Gary Burns Vs Bruno

Local News, By Christian Taylor, 1st July, 2009

Gay activist Gary Burns, well known for his lawsuits against John Laws, Steve Price, Jeff Kennett and Channel Nine, now has Sacha Baron Cohen in his sights. Tonight Burns appeared on Channel Seven’s Today Tonight talking about the damage that he believes the film is doing to the image of gay people.

“I think the guy’s just a poonce,” said Gary Burns. “He walks around pigeonholing and stereotyping gay men to be viewed as lisping mincing and most of us are everyday Joe Blows with the same aspirations and dreams as everybody else. I think the imagery that he portrays will mean that lay people sitting at home will think ‘that’s what poofs all are, that we’re all like him’, and we’re not all like him.”

“Listen, when the gay community takes money from the state government to portray itself in stereotypical terms, then any person can do whatever they wish,” says Piers Ackerman, columnist from the Daily Telegraph. “We in Sydney have an annual Mardi Gras Parade and we have ranks and ranks of gay men and … women marching up and down Oxford Street with feathers strapped to their backsides or dressed as nuns or dressed as women or lifeguards or whatever… and if this isn’t stereotyping or high camp behaviour then I don’t know what is… Stereotypes actually do come from somewhere. They’re not a creation.”

“I am not dressed as Dolly Parton, I wear a suit,” says Burns. “I believe it’s important that gay men are portrayed as ordinary everyday people… People can’t just parade around and say it’s satire… for every reaction there’s a re-action.”

Gary told Same Same this morning that he was not speaking on behalf of the gay community. “Gary Burns only speaks for and on the behalf of himself….A number of homosexual men seem to be thinking Mr Burns is speaking on their behalf without permission. In all Mr Burns legal matters he has taken complaints as a single complainant.”

Gary confirmed that he had not seen the movie, and probably wouldn’t be seeing it.

View footage of the Today Tonight episode here: