The once popular actor compared gay marriages to dogs
It’s been some time since actor Jean-Claude Van Damme has made a movie people talk about. But it’s not his films that have gotten him back in the news.
Instead, it’s the ugly, homophobic and anti-woman remarks he made over the weekend.
The Belgian actor appeared as a guest on the French television talk-show called On n’est pas. Also appearing on the program was the French Minister of Gender Equality, Marlene Schiappa.
Early in the show, Van Damme rudely interrupted the minister as she stalked about the female identity. He whistled and then said, “Oh my god” before moving on to ask who would take care of the children if all women were working.
Talk about sexist.
Not giving an inch, Schiappa called out Van Damme’s comments as “mansplaining,” defining the English term to the French audience members.
But Van Damme’s ugliness didn’t stop there.
The topic then turned to same-sex marriage – something that has been legal in France since 2013.
Shiappa asked: “According to your theory, if a man marries another man or a woman marries a woman, how does that work?”
Van Damme’s homophobic response was telling.
“Dogs get married”
“Men marry other men?” Van Damme responded, looking somewhat confused. “Men get married, women get married, dogs get married… Everybody is getting married and everybody is getting divorced,” he added, in a poor attempt to make a joke.
Schiappa, not putting up with his crap, held the once popular actor to account for his tone-deaf remarks, reminding him of the LGBTQ Pride parade had concluded just hours earlier; something that happened against the backdrop of homophobic acts of vandalism taking place in previous days.
“I’m sorry, but this is not funny,” said Shiappa. “This is the day of the Pride parade where people march to defend their rights.”
She added:
“I find this shocking there are people who are beaten and insulted because they are homosexual, we need to support them rather than mocking them, saying they are dogs.”
Trying to recover, Van Damme shot back:
“I have a lot of friends who are gay,” he said.
“If they want to get married, that’s OK. But the question is, if all the boys marry each another and all the women marry each other, how are we going to have children?”
As reported by Pink News:
“On social media, many viewers of the show shared Schiappa’s views and shock at Van Damme’s remarks. The French anti-discrimination organization Stop Homophobie highlighted the TV exchange on its website and said it reported it to the country’s ombudsman for broadcasting standards, the Conseil Supérieur de l’Audiovisuel (CSA).”
Van Damme must have missed the recent report published in Newsweek that children of LGBTQ couples are raised – and develop – just fine.
