'Te Blood' actor Nelsan Ellis: Former star qu bee he didn't 'want to play a gay part' | Fox News

black gay guy in true blood

Nelsan Ellis reveals that "Te Blood" actor Le Grim qu the show bee he didn't want to do a gay storyle -- and the st and crew is not happy.

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'TE BLOOD' ACTOR NELSAN ELLIS: FORMER STAR QU BEE HE DIDN'T 'WANT TO PLAY A GAY PART'

The Sunday, June 29 episo of Te Blood had a gay sex scene between 2 of the show's male protagonists; check out GIFs - spoilers, shockg ntent! * black gay guy in true blood *

Relled by many as talented and unrrated, Ellis beme a Te Blood fan-favore for his portrayal of the scene-stealg, gay short orr ok at Merlotte’s Bar the fictnal Louisiana town. ” Ellis’s character was ld for breakg stereotyp of gay men. "Yet over s seven seasons the seri also went the extra e by cludg many gay, lbian, and bisexual characters who were jt as diverse, dangero, and memorable as Bon Temps' other rints.

TE BLOOD “I FOUND YOU” EPISO FEATURED SURPRISE GAY SEX SCENE: GIFS

'Te Blood' Actor Le Grim Qu Over Gay Role * black gay guy in true blood *

” Ellis played Lafayette Reynolds, a gay ok, through the seven-season n of “Te Blood.

SPOILER ALERT: TE BLOOD TURNS STRAIGHT CHARACTER GAY… BUT WHICH ONE?

* black gay guy in true blood *

”Onle news se The Gr praised Ellis’s portrayal of Lafayette as one that “slays gay stereotyp. He was open and unapologetic about his love of sex and the male form while livg the ty fictnal town of Bon Temps, Louisiana — the type of place where ’s not necsarily safe to be gay, or black, and certaly not both at the same time.

'TE BLOOD' ACTOR LE GRIM QU OVER GAY ROLE (REPORT)

Part of Te Blood’s appeal is that the st portrays their characters so well that ’s hard to believe they aren’t real. Enter Lafayette, played by Nelsan Ellis. Lafayette is a gay man who is flamboyant and egreg but at the same time isn’t stereotypil. * black gay guy in true blood *

As Lafayette, Ellis expand the untry’s llective imagatn of what a queer black man uld look, sound and act like, startg jt months before California passed Proposn 8, which banned same-sex marriage, and years before Print Barack Obama announced an “evolutn” his thkg about gay rights.

Williams) such a memorable part of The Wire — his gayns isn’t the fg feature of his character.

He’s gay a way that feels unique to the projects of Baltimore.

'TE BLOOD' ACTOR SPEAKS OUT ON EX-COSTAR'S ANTI-GAY BEHAVR: 'I'M OVER HIM'THE REAL REASON BEHD LE GRIM' EX A'T SO {FONT:NORMAL 800 1.2REM/1.25 "GRAVY",SANS-SERIF;TEXT-TRANSFORM:NONE;LOR:HER;DISPLAY:LE-BLOCK;PADDG-BOTTOM:6PX;POSN:RELATIVE;TEXT-TRANSFORM:UPPERSE;}{BACKGROUND:#FFFFFF;BOTTOM:0;NTENT:'';DISPLAY:BLOCK;HEIGHT:2PX;LEFT:0;POSN:ABSOLUTE;RIGHT:0;-WEBK-TRANSN:ALL 0.2S EASE;TRANSN:ALL 0.2S EASE;WIDTH:100%;}{LEFT:51%;RIGHT:51%;WIDTH:0;}{FONT:NORMAL 800 1.2REM/1.25 "GRAVY",SANS-SERIF;TEXT-TRANSFORM:NONE;LOR:HER;DISPLAY:LE-BLOCK;PADDG-BOTTOM:6PX;POSN:RELATIVE;TEXT-TRANSFORM:UPPERSE;}{BACKGROUND:#FFFFFF;BOTTOM:0;NTENT:'';DISPLAY:BLOCK;HEIGHT:2PX;LEFT:0;POSN:ABSOLUTE;RIGHT:0;-WEBK-TRANSN:ALL 0.2S EASE;TRANSN:ALL 0.2S EASE;WIDTH:100%;}{LEFT:51%;RIGHT:51%;WIDTH:0;}TVBY SHNNA MURPHYJULY 22, 2014/12:27 {HEIGHT:HER;DISPLAY:-WEBK-BOX;DISPLAY:-WEBK-FLEX;DISPLAY:-MS-FLEXBOX;DISPLAY:FLEX;POSN:RELATIVE;-WEBK-FLEX-WRAP:WRAP;-MS-FLEX-WRAP:WRAP;FLEX-WRAP:WRAP;-WEBK-ALIGN-EMS:CENTER;-WEBK-BOX-ALIGN:CENTER;-MS-FLEX-ALIGN:CENTER;ALIGN-EMS:CENTER;-WEBK-BOX-PACK:CENTER;-WEBK-JTIFY-NTENT:CENTER;-MS-FLEX-PACK:CENTER;JTIFY-NTENT:CENTER;-WEBK-TRANSFORM-ORIG:CENTER;-MS-TRANSFORM-ORIG:CENTER;TRANSFORM-ORIG:CENTER;} IMG{HEIGHT:100%;WIDTH:100%;OBJECT-F:VER;}{HEIGHT:574PX;WIDTH:1020PX;}HBOBY SHNNA MURPHYJULY 22, 2014 / 12:27 PM{"@NTEXT":","@TYPE":"NEWSARTICLE","HEADLE":"'TE BLOOD' ACTOR SPEAKS OUT ON EX-COSTAR'S ANTI-GAY BEHAVR: 'I'M OVER HIM'","THUMBNAILURL":","DATEPUBLISHED":"2014-07-22T16:27:26.000+0000","DATEMODIFIED":"2014-07-22T16:27:26.000+0000","IMAGE":{"@NTEXT":","@TYPE":"IMAGEOBJECT","URL":","WIDTH":1920,"HEIGHT":1080},"URL":","THOR":{"@TYPE":"ORGANIZATN","NAME":"MTV"},"MAENTYOFPAGE":{"@TYPE":"WEBPAGE","@ID":"},"PUBLISHER":{"@TYPE":"ORGANIZATN","@ID":","NAME":"MTV","URL":","LOGO":{"@TYPE":"IMAGEOBJECT","URL":","WIDTH":1280,"HEIGHT":720}},"CREATOR":"SHNNA MURPHY","ARTICLESECTN":"TV"}{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#F3F3F3;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}WHEN "TE BLOOD" RETURNED FOR S SEVENTH AND FAL SEASON EARLIER THIS SUMMER, FANS IMMEDIATELY NOTICED THAT ONE CCIAL CHARACTER HAD A DIFFERENT FACE -- JAM, THE STUDLY VAMPIRE WHO ENTERED THE SHOW SEASON SIX TO ROMANCE DEBORAH ANN WOLL'S CHARACTER, JSI, WAS NOW BEG PLAYED BY A NEW ACTOR, NATHAN {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#F3F3F3;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}THE ACTOR WHO IALLY PLAYED JAM, LE GRIM, ISSUED A STATEMENT SAYG THAT HIS ABPT PARTURE "HAD NOTHG TO DO WH STORYL" AND MORE TO DO WH OTHER OPPORTUNI. (HE'LL BE APPEARG 2015'S SURE-TO-BE MEGAH "FIFTY SHAS OF GREY," FOR EXAMPLE.) AND HBO, FOR S PART, ATTRIBUTED HIS CISN TO "THE CREATIVE DIRECTN OF THE CHARACTER."{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#F3F3F3;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}BUT ONCE BEME CLEAR THAT GRIM' FORMER CHARACTER WAS BISEXUAL, AND HEAD FOR ROMANCE WH NELSAN ELLIS' FAN-FAVORE CHARACTER LAFAYETTE, THE STORY GOT A B EPER -- AND NOW, WEEKS AFTER BUZZFEED FIRST REPORTED THAT GRIM ED EXED THE SHOW BEE HE DIDN'T WANT TO PLAY GAY, AND THAT HIS ACTNS "BAFFLED AND ANGERED" THE "TE BLOOD" ST AND CREW, ELLIS HIMSELF IS SPEAKG {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#F3F3F3;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}"I MEAN, I N SAY I'M NOT GOG TO MAKE A MENT, BUT I JT THK THAT, YOU'RE AN ACTOR, YOU'RE AN ACTOR ON A SHOW THAT'S 'TE BLOOD,'" ELLIS TOLD VULTURE AFTER THE JULY 20 EPISO, WHICH FEATURED LAFAYETTE AND JAM' FIRST SEX SCENE. "WE'RE ALL STG THERE GOG, 'YOU QU YOUR JOB BEE ... REALLY?' I'M JT... I'M OVER HIM. YOU QU YOUR JOB BEE YOU DON'T WANT TO PLAY A GAY PART? AS IF 'S ... YOU KNOW WHAT? I'M GOG TO STOP TALKG."{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#F3F3F3;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}ELLIS DIDN'T STOP THERE, HOWEVER -- HE POTED OUT THAT GRIM' ACTNS MAKE A FIVE STATEMENT, AND THAT A STATEMENT OF THIS KD N HAVE {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#F3F3F3;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}"YOU MAKE A STATEMENT WHEN YOU DO SOMETHG LIKE THAT," HE NTUED. "I DID A DOCUMENTARY LLED 'DAMN WONRFUL,' ABOUT GAY SUICI, AND YOU MAKE A STATEMENT, A BIG STATEMENT, WHEN YOU GO, 'I DON'T WANT TO PLAY THIS PART BEE 'S GAY.' IF YOU HAVE A CHILD, IF YOU HAVE A SON, AND HE OUT AS GAY, WHAT ARE YOU GOG TO DO? IF YOU HAVE A DGHTER WHO OUT GAY...? YOU JT MA A STATEMENT, AND HAS RIPPLE EFFECTS."{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#F3F3F3;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}ELLIS ALSO SAID THAT, AS AN ACTOR, YOU N'T E TO A PROJECT -- PECIALLY A PROJECT LIKE "TE BLOOD," WHICH BOASTED FIVE FULL YEARS OF SEX AND LGBT-IENDLY NTENT BEFORE GRIM EVEN ENTERED THE SCENE -- AND TELL YOUR BOSS WHAT YOU WILL AND WILL NOT {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#F3F3F3;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}"WHEN SCRIPTS E, WE'RE LIKE, 'WHAT ARE THEY GOG TO HAVE DO THIS WEEK?' BUT WHEN YOU MAKE A STATEMENT THAT IS A JUDGMENT ... I WAS KD OF LIKE, 'HAVE YOU MET ALAN BALL?'" HE SAID, REFERRG TO THE SHOW'S OPENLY GAY CREATOR. "I'M SUPPOSED TO DO WHAT MY BOSS TELLS ME TO DO, AS AN ACTOR. I N'T APPROACH A CHARACTER WH JUDGMENT. I CERTALY N'T TELL MY BOSS, 'I N ACT WHAT I WANT TO ACT, BUT NOT WHAT YOU TELL ME TO ACT,' PECIALLY ON A SHOW WHERE YOU E , KNOWG WHAT IS. I WAS LIKE, 'OKAY... I GUS?' I JT THOUGHT THAT, HAVG JT DONE THE DOCUMENTARY, I DIDN'T LIKE WHAT HE DID BEE HE MA A STATEMENT, AND SOMETIM YOU HAVE TO TAKE RPONSIBILY."{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#F3F3F3;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}WELL, THERE YOU HAVE -- THE MYSTERY OF JAM KENT'S NEW FACE HAS OFFICIALLY BEEN SOLVED. BUT DON'T FOR ONE SEND FEEL SORRY FOR ELLIS, WHO SAYS HE ADOR AND HAS "GREAT CHEMISTRY" WH PARSONS, WHO SEEMS MORE THAN HAPPY TO BE STARRG ON THIS BLOCKBTER SHOW. AND THEN, OF URSE, THERE'S THE FACT THAT GRIM WILL LIKELY NOT BE VED TO STAR THE "TE BLOOD" MIL... OR ON ANY HBO SHOWS GENERAL, ACRDG TO {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#F3F3F3;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}"I DON'T THK HE'LL BE VED BACK TO HBO," THE ACTOR NCLUD, WH A {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;CLEAR:BOTH;}{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;MARG:0 TO;WIDTH:90%;M-WIDTH:288PX;MAX-WIDTH:1440PX;M-HEIGHT:194PX;}LATT NEWS

When first aired 2005, Noah’s Arc many ways felt like a black rponse to the overwhelmg whens of Showtime’s Amerin adaptatn of Queer as Folk, another landmark show that challenged what meant to see gay men on televisn. Noah’s Arc centered on a group of middle-class gay black men livg Los Angel.

It was a way to say, “Hey, black people live gentrified gayborhoods and drk smopolans and battle HIV stigma too. I don’t answer that qutn — ‘Are you gay or not? Ne years after the last episo of The Wire aired, Williams is still sistg terviews that he’s more than jt Omar Ltle, spe a lany of rol, gay and straight, sce Omar buted.

But Grim reportedly qu December when he found out Kent was bisexual and startg a romantic relatnship wh a gay character the seventh and fal Nelsan Ellis, the actor who plays Kent’s gay lover on the show, is speakg up -- and he’s not happy. “You qu your job bee you don’t want to play a gay part?

NELSAN ELLIS (LAFAYETTE) TALKS ‘TE BLOOD,’ GAY MARRIAGE, TYLER PERRY

You make a big statement when you go, ‘I don’t want to play this part bee ’s gay, ” Ellis told New York Magaze followg the airg this week of his character’s sex scene wh the new actor playg Kent. ”Yet crics argue that Grim should have known what he was gettg to when he ially signed the dotted le, given that the supernatural drama – created by the openly gay Alan Ball and produced by his pany njunctn wh HBO – routely ph the envelope when to relatnships.

“It’s unfortunate that an actor today would feel unfortable playg gay, pecially on a program that has always put LGBT characters ont and center, ” Stacy Lambe, Associate Edor for the gay and lbian-foced OUT Magaze said. Take a look back at some of the gay sex dreams that have appeared on Te Blood, which, often feature Kwanten as the betiful season 6, Jason Stackhoe shared a sexy dream sequence after drkg the vae of the vampire-fairy Warlow, played by Rob Kazsky. Earlier the show's n, Jason received a surprise bedfellow the form of Eddie, a middle-aged gay vampire.

Lafayette, Bon Temps' only openly gay and androgyno dg aler, regularly claps back at bigoted whe folks and homophob ’s also worth notg that Tara herself eventually beme a vampire, spe beg extremely wary of them earlier the seri. Te Blood “I Found You” Episo Featured Surprise Gay Sex Scene: GIFs.

'TE BLOOD' ACTOR QU SHOW OVER GAY CONTENT

As steamy as the Jason-Eric scene was, wasn’t even the first homoerotic dream for straight-so-far Jason. And, of urse, there’s rint bisexual Pam and openly gay Lafayette, the latter of whom is now settled down wh J.

Lafayette is a flamboyant, charismatic gay man.

Bee he is gay, people tend to unrtimate Lafayette, but he has taken down human men. Now, a new report claims those "differenc" stemmed om a gay plotle. Buzzfeed reports that Grim -- who prevly played Jam, the vampire boyiend of Jsi (Deborah Ann Woll) -- qu bee the Season 7 script of the vampire-centric HBO show clud a romance between his character and the openly gay Lafayette (Nelsan Ellis).

TE BLOOD'S LAFAYETTE SLAYS GAY STEREOTYP

"But once beme clear that Grim' former character was bisexual, and head for romance wh Nelsan Ellis' fan-favore character Lafayette, the story got a b eper -- and now, weeks after Buzzfeed first reported that Grim ed exed the show bee he didn't want to play gay, and that his actns "baffled and angered" the "Te Blood" st and crew, Ellis himself is speakg out.

You qu your job bee you don't want to play a gay part?

"I did a documentary lled 'Damn Wonrful, ' about gay suici, and you make a statement, a big statement, when you go, 'I don't want to play this part bee 's gay. ' If you have a child, if you have a son, and he out as gay, what are you gog to do?

TE BLOOD’S NELSAN ELLIS TALKS GAY STEREOTYP & TYLER PERRY

If you have a dghter who out gay...? '" he said, referrg to the show's openly gay creator. Lafayette is a gay man who is flamboyant and egreg but at the same time isn’t stereotypil.

Here, he tells VIBE how he brought Lafayette to life, what the gay muny thks about the character and how he plans to transn beyond his Te Blood role.

*BEAR-MAGAZINE.COM* BLACK GAY GUY IN TRUE BLOOD

Te Blood's Nelsan Ellis Talks Gay Stereotyp & Tyler Perry .

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