In an interview withThe Hollywood Reporterpublished over the weekend, actor Ted Levine, who played Jame “Buffalo Bill” Gumb, and producer Edward Saxon addressed long-standing complaints from transgender activists that the character portrays “harmful stereotypes.”
“There are certain aspects of the movie that don’t hold up too well,” Levine told the outlet. “We all know more, and I’m a lot wiser about transgender issues. There are some lines in that script and movie that are unfortunate.”
This interview marks the first time the actor has addressed the charges of “transphobia” in the film.
“[It’s] just over time and having gotten aware and worked with trans folks, and understanding a bit more about the culture and the reality of the meaning of gender,” the actor said. “It’s unfortunate that the film vilified that, and it’s fucking wrong. And you can quote me on that.”
Levine insisted, however, that he never portrayed the character as gay or transgender.
“I didn’t play him as being gay or trans. I think he was just a fucked-up heterosexual man. That’s what I was doing,” Levine said.
Producer Edward Saxon echoed the regret while defending the filmmakers’ original intent.
“We were really loyal to the book,” Saxon said. “As we made the film, there was just no question in our minds that Buffalo Bill was a completely aberrant personality — that he wasn’t gay or trans. He was sick. To that extent, we missed it. From my point of view, we weren’t sensitive enough to the legacy of a lot of stereotypes and their ability to harm.”
“There’s regret, but it didn’t come from any place of malice. It actually came from a place of seeing this guy. We all had dear friends and family who were gay. We thought it would just be very clear that Buffalo Bill adapts different things from society, from a place of an incredibly sick pathology,” he continued.
Unfortunately, transgender killers are a real threat that is on the rise.
Source: The Gateway Pundit
