Rupert Everett says the LGBT community should stay ‘vigilant’
The actor was nominated for his role as Oscar Wilde in 'The Happy Prince' at the British Independent Film Awards
By Steve Brown
Words: Steve Brown
Rupert Everett has said the gay community should stay ‘vigilant’.
The actor – who starred as Oscar Wilde in his directorial debut ‘The Happy Prince’ – was speaking at the British Independent Film Awards where he called for the LGBT community to remain vigilant and said there was a “certain complacency”.
He said: “In over three quarters of the planet it’s still a life and death challenge being gay or lesbian or transgender.
“Even in the West everything is changing. We’ve made enormous progress since the days of Oscar Wilde, fantastic things have happened.
“But at the same time, you also need to be vigilant. Things are changing all over Europe at the moment, in all sorts of ways.
“I think in my community, we have to be vigilant about it. We have to think really hard about what we’ve gotten used to in the last 40 or 50 years, because a lot of it might not be on the menu soon.
“I think there is a certain complacency.”