In a new interview in the Daily Beast, Kevin Sessums grills Kevin Spacey about rumors he is gay. Spacey says he never discusses it because he "(has) not given up (his) right to privacy."
He also calls those who condemn the bullying of gay teens hypocrites for not also condemning the outing of celebrities.
Says Spacey:
"I think what we have seen in terms of gay teenagers committing suicide because of bullying is anguishing. I think young people, if they are feeling like they are confused, need to know that there are people to talk to and that there are places they can go and not feel alone. But I feel that they have just as many rights as I do to not be bullied. And I don't understand people who say, 'Well, this is a terrible thing that is happening to this young person whose life is being exposed,' and then turn around and do it to another person. People have different reasons for the way they live their lives. You cannot put everyone's reasons in the same box. It's just a line I've never crossed and never will."
Spacey also promises Sessums he'll do an "It Gets Better" video, and says that kids who bully use the media's bullying of celebrities as a role model:
"…why is it in this country that kids might think it's okay to bully and make fun of somebody? I'll tell you why, because what do they see in the media happening all the time? In the media they seem to think that's okay. So if we stop using sexuality as a weapon against people maybe everyone will eventually get cool with it."
Ultimately, Spacey says that allowing people to know his sexuality is allowing people into his private life, and he won't do it.
"I don't live a lie. You have to understand that people who choose not to discuss their personal lives are not living a lie. That is a presumption that people jump to," he tells Sessums. "I am different than some people would like me to be. I just don't buy into that the personal can be political. I just think that's horseshit. No one's personal life is in the public interest. It's gossip, bottom line. End of story. Now some people feed that. They'll go to the trendy restaurants where all the photographers are and then bitch about being famous. But if you don't want to feed that and you want your life to be based around what your work is then it ends there."
Kevin Spacey on Casino Jack [the daily beast]
