Steven Pasquale Disavows Denis Leary
Denis Leary may have used his Rescue Me costar Steven Pasquale to provide the punchline for a homophobic anecdote last night on The Daily Show, but Pasquale would like it known that he never uttered the gay slur attributed to him. "I am an actor, and I live and work in New York City. I can honestly say that half the people I know, love and respect are gay," he explained in a statement. "I simply didn't say it. I'm not capable of saying it, anymore than describing my black friends as the 'N' word...I'm afraid Denis got his wires a little crossed in remembering that story." [Queerty]
Subscribe to the new Movieline on YouTube
Comments
So, we see that Steven Pasquale did not say what Denis Leary said he said. Also his wife has said the same thing, that he did not use the word. Interesting. Well, Denis has used anti-gay epithets in the past so I'm unfortunately not surprised by his classless behavior. Yes, he's a comedian, but no, that is not a license for abusive language on national TV where thousands are watching. People like Denis using this type of language gives validation to others who use these sort of offensive terms. It's WRONG to denigrate people who are simply living with these sort of words. This is a matter of respect. Respect to all legal citizens. That was not given by Denis Leary, and for Comedy Central to not bleep out the f-word shows they do not put it on the same level as any other offensive words towards individuals, and that is reprehensible. All around, it's just really unfortunate this happened, and I expect someone to be a stand up person and apologize to people who were assaulted verbally for no reason.