01/22/2008
Mel Gibson Catching Up on His Gay Literature
Mel Gibson was spotted at the G'Day USA Hollywood Ashes & Aussie Picnic, which is an Australian and English international celebrity cricket match, toting around some unusual reading material, notably gay Australian cowboy Adam Sutton's memoir Say It Out Loud.
Sutton was a friend of Heath Ledger's whose own coming out story made headlines in Australia following the revelation that Sutton was part of Ledger's inspiration for the role. He's since become a gay celeb in Australia, and last year led the Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras parade down Oxford Street with Rupert Everett.
What Gibson was doing with his book is anyone's guess.
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Posted 11:31 AM EST by Andy in Adam Sutton, Australia, Books, Mel Gibson, News | Permalink
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well maybe just maybe my dears he's going to make a movie out of it... wouldn't that blow all your minds...
Posted by: the queen | Jan 22, 2008 11:34:52 AM
Oh God! Please, please, please DON'T let Mel Gibson adapt this one into a movie! He will de-gay this guy's life story to a point beyond comprehension! After all, "The Man Without a Face" suddenly wasn't gay anymore once Mel got his hooks into it. And don't even start me on what he's done to history ("Braveheart", "The Patriot"). Old Mel just makes it up as he goes along...as long as he comes out the hero!
Posted by: Funbud | Jan 22, 2008 11:39:39 AM
The mighty gay dollar may be a powerful enough draw for this hate-filled man.
Posted by: Charles | Jan 22, 2008 11:50:10 AM
Miss Gibson carries her books like a girl!
Posted by: Cub | Jan 22, 2008 11:51:22 AM
I have to assume it was a little chilly in SoCal and he was going to burn it to keep warm.
Posted by: tjc | Jan 22, 2008 11:56:20 AM
"What Gibson was doing with his book is anyone's guess."
Uh. He's reading a book that happens to be about a gay dude.
What's next? "EXCLUSIVE: (random male celebrity) SEEN EATING IN RESTAURANT A FEW TABLES AWAY FROM A SUSPECTED GAY!"
You guys should get a rainbow Drudge siren or something.
Posted by: Phil | Jan 22, 2008 11:57:32 AM
maybe it's a good book?
Posted by: ridwah | Jan 22, 2008 12:09:00 PM
Phil if you'd like to make me a rainbow Drudge siren I'd use it with pride.
Posted by: andy | Jan 22, 2008 12:24:36 PM
Love the christian singles ad below this post.
Posted by: Joe Jr. | Jan 22, 2008 12:47:04 PM
Mel has reformed his homophobic ways. After all, that was so mid-1990s. He's all about the anti-Semitism nowadays.
Posted by: John | Jan 22, 2008 12:57:25 PM
Can't find the book for sale anywhere except thru Aussie book stores, and then mos tof them don't have it. Any idea when it becomes available in USA?
Posted by: bostonbear | Jan 22, 2008 1:20:23 PM
Hi April!
As the steelworker in the Simpsons said, "Oh be nice!"
Posted by: tjc | Jan 22, 2008 5:19:59 PM
oh, APRIL, that was so incredibly funny and clever that i am just now recovering from the stitch in my side from laughing. as i gasp for air, i curse the oxygen that you breathe into that stinking hole you call a mouth that allows the ugly organism that is your body to survive.
Posted by: nic | Jan 22, 2008 5:21:10 PM
He bought the book to burn it, of course...
Posted by: Wirrrn | Jan 22, 2008 9:16:49 PM
Mel may be a bigot, but he knows how to make money. I'm betting he's going to check it out for a possible movie.
I have a difficult time with all this boo hooing about how he didn't make the Man Without a Face gay. Being gay wasn't the most compelling thing about the guy. Contrary to what some in here may think, many of us gay's happen to think being gay is just one of the many thing's that makes us who we are, not the be all and end all of our personalities. If I had to list 10 things about me that would tell you who I am, gay probably wouldn't be in the top 5. I'm a pretty interesting guy that just happens to sleep with other guys.
Posted by: Joshua | Jan 22, 2008 9:43:24 PM
Joshua--
See, I think the fact that I'm gay is actually an important part of me, and it's important to me that people know it.
"Gosh, tjc, that seems awfully in-your-face. I just want to live a quiet life, why can't you?"
Well, it has a lot to do with my husband, and the fact that he is the most important part of my life. So all my job decisions, housing decisions, travel, business, health, food, financial, and pretty much every other decision, from do I wear the last clean pair of socks or let him take them to when should be replace one of the cars, involves him.
The fact that I _will_ tell people at work about him, about what we did this weekend (the husband and I watched ___ film/show/etc; we went to dinner; we visited my in-laws; etc), about his new job, and about OUR life together, as much as any straigh person talks about his or her spouse or boyfriend/girlfriend, means that people know I'm gay.
In fact, I was very surprised to learn that there actually was a person in my office who DID NOT know I was gay -- doesn't anyone talk about me behind my back?
But all that said, being gay is as much who I am as being left-handed and college-educated. They all are aspects of me, to varying degrees. It's definitely in the top 5, but I don't do rankings.
I'm an interesting guy. I'm an interesting guy who's gay.
So when the fact that someone is gay is ignored, glossed over, or left out ("lying by ommission"), it IS important. You don't have to say, "I'M GAY." Do it the way straight people declare themselves straight: guys say, "oooh, she's hot." Tell 'em you think Owen Wilson's a looker. Women say, "I took my boyfriend to dinner last night." Say, "Oh, my boyfriend cooked for me last night."
Don't ask for your place at the table, just sit down and start eating.
Posted by: tjc | Jan 22, 2008 10:33:07 PM
Is it me, or does that not look like Mel?
Posted by: anon (gmail.com) | Jan 22, 2008 11:29:23 PM
TJC, Here, here!
I feel exactly the same way.
I think JOSHUA defines his sexuality by who he sleeps with and that's why he seems unaware of how big a part of his life it really is.
Sex is a small part of sexuality but sexuality is a big part of just about everyone's life whether they realize it or admit it or not. Just look at straight men. Their sexuality (and not just the sex part) is a HUGE influence in their lives. Gay people are no different.
Posted by: ZEKE | Jan 22, 2008 11:47:51 PM
Adam Sutton (the gay cowboy the book is about) was a personal friend of Heath Ledger. Today's news must be devastating to him.
Posted by: ZEKE | Jan 22, 2008 11:51:18 PM
While I agree with TJC and Zeke, I also have to side with Joshua. I don't walk into work everyday and tell everyone what the hubby and I did all weekend long. If i get asked, then yes, otherwise, we talk about current events, the family, etc. And yes he may come up in the conversation, but if it doesn't involve him then i don't need to point it out. When I go to the groceries and the girl asks "your turn to make dinner huh?" I don't answer, "yes, for me and my HUSBAND." All the important people in my life know who he is and that's all that matters. My friends know me as "AJ", not "Gay AJ".
Posted by: AJ | Jan 23, 2008 3:36:16 AM
AJ and JOSHUA
oooh, you're so (auto)sexy in your self-deluded way.
many were the times when, in an office environment, i had to nod politely when both straight men and straight women talked openly about their troubles or good times with their spouses. when you can talk as openly as they at your job then speak up. otherwise, shut the fuck up.
Posted by: nic | Jan 23, 2008 4:46:36 AM
Well that's really great to know there is a the Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras parade down Oxford Street with Rupert Everett.I have to share this with all bisexual i know on ****bimingle.com*****There is one more place to know like-minded persons again. Great.
Posted by: brandy92 | Jan 23, 2008 5:56:58 AM
AJ -- Actually, in fact I _DO_ tell the checkout girl I'm making dinner for my husband (without the emphasis), if she asks or comments. Why? Because I've also gone through the line and heard cashiers mocking gay people or using inappropriate language. Telling them you're gay and those comments are hurtful shuts them up pretty fast.
Often the hubby and I will be asked if we're brothers (almost always in the grocery store). Unless it feels unsafe to answer, we say nope, partners / spouses of xx years.
Note that at no time did I say, "the man I have sex with" or "last night's fuck-buddy" or "the man who blew me this morning." In casual conversation, most straight people talk more about their sex lives JUST BY MENTIONING THEIR KIDS than most gay people EVER will.
I figure it's more difficult to be causally out for single people because they can't use the "casual conversation" approach ask easily.
And AJ, I wasn't saying that all I do is talk about me and the husband at work (I don't think that's how you took my remarks). I bring him up as much as anyone brings up their SO, and share as much of my personal life as I feel is conducive to a good work environment.
Posted by: tjc | Jan 23, 2008 11:37:36 AM
Sorry, I didn't mean to make it sound like that's all you talk about. At my work place i'm the only "openly" gay person, and sometimes it even gets to the point that the gayness just starts to get too much. I love the fact that my co-workers are fine with me being gay and have met and love my hubby, but at times that's ALL they want to talk about and I have to remind them that my being gay isn't the only facet of my being. Also, it's not that i'm embarassed or ashamed, we always introduce each other as "husband" and such, and if asked, I do tell the truth as to who he is. I do consider myself blessed by the fact that I can talk about my personal life without issue in my workplace though. Maybe i'm just explaining it in the wrong context, lol.
And I have also heard people using "gay" as a derogatory term, like "oh that's so gay!" And i always stop and ask them why. When they realize that they are talking to a gay man and that they have offended, they hopefully learn something. Many apologize, while others just wave it off and walk away.
Posted by: AJ | Jan 24, 2008 6:44:58 PM
Is it just me-- but at first glance I thought the pic of Mel was a pic of Sir Elton John!
I used to love Mel in his early days, before he went wacko and all judgmental. Let's hope his reading of the book will help him "see the light".
Posted by: devilgirl | Jan 26, 2008 5:36:43 PM