In a recent interview with the Guardian, Stevie Wonder was asked to address Frank Ocean‘s sexuality and impact on hip-hop. While we would have expected to hear a very warm response, his statement is up for interpretation. Here is what he had to say:
I think honestly, some people who think they’re gay, they’re confused. People can misconstrue closeness for love. People can feel connected, they bond. I’m not saying all [gay people]. Some people have a desire to be with the same sex. But that’s them.
Not exactly the answer we were expecting from the always loving Stevie Wonder. With that said, it seems as though it may have been taken slightly out of context as some headlines are already claiming Stevie Wonder called Ocean and the gay community ‘confused’. It appears that Ocean himself wasn’t so clear about his sexuality in past statements, and even wanted people to ask questions about it, which Stevie arguably did.
Stevie also said in the interview that he likes Frank and even sang the hook from Ocean’s “No Church In The Wild” to Frank himself when he met him at a party recently. Is it possible then, that Stevie’s comment was simply meant as a personal message for Frank Ocean, and not as any kind of criticism for the gay community? Are you disappointed by Stevie’s comment? Do you think his comment is being blown out of proportion?
Let us know what you think in the comments section below. [via]
How is that a joke and he wasn’t even talking about frank ocean in particular so why did hr have to aplogize that’s really dumb
lol, I see what you did there with the first sentence.
I actually don’t see any hint of anti gay in his statement at all. I’m pretty sure there’s a strong emphasis on his first usage of “think” which he even follows with “confused”. I think he’s only trying to say that people who “think” that they are gay, and do not “know” and “feel” that they are gay, are at a middleground and aren’t up to par with the truth with themselves. “Confused” should not be misconstrued as condescending at all, just a term to describe personal ambiguity as opposed to a contrast with what people are assuming to be an anti gay, traditional stance.
Yeah, it’s definitely is a quote that needs more clarification. As it stands right now it’s certainly anti-gay. Considering he’s from the older generation I’m not all that surprised.
I just hope no one asks Bill Cosby for his thoughts.
Agreed, and that’s how we wanted to approach this, ya know?
First off, I think it’s weird that someone would ask Stevie about this in the first place. It’s obviously someone looking for a soundbyte, right?
Secondly, it’s hard to determine Stevie’s intent and you would almost like him to expound on it a bit because it really does come off as sounding anti-gay. If that’s how he feels, fine. It’s disappointing but the older generation generally feels a lot different about the gay community anyway.