[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/the-normal-heart-playwright-larry-kramer-i-dont-know-why-gay-people-are-hated-but-we-are\/#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/the-normal-heart-playwright-larry-kramer-i-dont-know-why-gay-people-are-hated-but-we-are\/","headline":"The Normal Heart Playwright Larry Kramer: I Don’t Know Why Gay People Are Hated, But We Are","name":"The Normal Heart Playwright Larry Kramer: I Don’t Know Why Gay People Are Hated, But We Are","description":"  In a candid interview with Parade.com, A Normal Heart playwright Larry Kramer discusses the HBO screen adaptation of his landmark 1985 play about the AIDS crisis, his thoughts...","datePublished":"2013-07-24","dateModified":"2021-06-30","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/author\/admin\/#Person","name":"Equally Wed","url":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/author\/admin\/","identifier":787,"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ca62cf123aaaf135c80b055249bacbda79de9226e11cdfcde6529bedf89683de?s=96&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ca62cf123aaaf135c80b055249bacbda79de9226e11cdfcde6529bedf89683de?s=96&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Equally Wed","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"http:\/\/equallywed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/equally-wed-lgbtq-weddings-logo.jpg","url":"http:\/\/equallywed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/equally-wed-lgbtq-weddings-logo.jpg","width":218,"height":60}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/larry-kramer-the-normal-heart-gay-marriage.jpg","url":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/larry-kramer-the-normal-heart-gay-marriage.jpg","height":366,"width":549},"url":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/the-normal-heart-playwright-larry-kramer-i-dont-know-why-gay-people-are-hated-but-we-are\/","about":["Marriage Equality News"],"wordCount":849,"articleBody":" In a candid interview with Parade.com, A Normal Heart playwright Larry Kramer discusses the HBO screen adaptation of his landmark 1985 play about the AIDS crisis, his thoughts on Hollywood actors playing gay, equal marriage, and more. He also shared his controversial thoughts on past U.S. presidents (some he deems homosexual) and government reaction to AIDS victims. Below are some of the highlights from the article, published on EquallyWed.com with full permission. For the full story, click here. Q Glee creator Ryan Murphy is directing The Normal Heart. Brad Pitt\u2019s company, Plan B, is producing for HBO. Did you have trouble casting The Normal Heart because actors are afraid to play gay?A \u201cYes. In \u201984, \u201985, with the play, it was hard to get actors to go gay. We waited forever for Al Pacino, who diddled making up his mind. I was very happy with Brad Davis.\u201d [Brad Davis played Ned Weeks, the lead in the original stage production of The Normal Heart at New York\u2019s Public Theater. Pacino declined the role.] In The Normal Heart, you attack our government\u2019s disregard for AIDS victims. Was that apparent indifference due to the kind of people who first got infected in America\u2014gays, people of color, addicts?\u201cOf course. It\u2019s because of who gets AIDS. I consider a great deal of what was done to us [by the government] evil.\u201d But there were early heroes in the AIDS battle. You and others were arrested many times in protests. Elizabeth Taylor risked a lot.\u201cLet\u2019s talk about Elizabeth Taylor. She was buddies with Reagan. She never once went to him about this. She lent her name, but she didn\u2019t use her power to confront the powers that be.\u201d When you were a student at Yale in the 1950s, did you know you were gay?\u201cI was very unhappy. I thought I was the only gay person in the world.\u201d The only gay person? Is that why you attempted suicide at Yale?\u201cI certainly didn\u2019t see anyone [gay] there. And I got very depressed one afternoon and did it.\u201d You took an overdose, right?\u201cThe campus police rushed me to the hospital and pumped my stomach. My brother was the first person I saw when I came to. We were very close. Because of him, I was able to stay in school and start psychoanalysis in New Haven. So that\u2019s what I did.\u201d [Kramer\u2019s brother, Arthur, a lawyer, died in 2008.] Why are gay people hated?\u201cI don\u2019t know, but we are. It makes no sense. I don\u2019t know why [Rep.] Michelle Bachmann hates me. I mean, what\u2019s in it for her? Why should she care? I don\u2019t know why that whole Tea Party hates us. Leave us alone already.\u201d Do you think we will ever have a gay president?\u201cLincoln was gay.\u201d He was?\u201cWe\u2019ve had a number of gay presidents.\u201d Who else?\u201cFranklin Pierce. Andrew Jackson.\u201d You were diagnosed with HIV in 1988?\u201cYes.\u201d Then your liver failed and you had a liver transplant in 2001.\u201cI was told that I only had six months to live, and they weren\u2019t transplanting people with HIV. I was at death\u2019s door. I weighed 120 pounds. I wasn\u2019t upset. I thought I\u2019d contributed to the world and been well used. At the very, very last minute, suddenly they wanted HIV-positive people for a transplant study. They had done seven of them. I was the eighth.\u201d Let\u2019s talk about the Supreme Court\u2019s June 26 decisions legalizing equal marriage in California and overturning DOMA. How do they affect you?\u201cDavid and I are going to get married!\u201d [David Webster, an architect, is Kramer\u2019s partner.] How long have you been together?\u201cSince 1995.\u201d When are you going to get married?\u201cAs soon as we can.\u201d You must\u2019ve been overjoyed at the court\u2019s ruling.\u201cI couldn\u2019t believe it! You know, they gave us what we deserved, but they kept back some really important stuff. So, I\u2019m not going, \u2018Glory, hallelujah,\u2019 like everybody is. What they did will require a lot more lawsuits to clarify stuff that they refused to rule on. But we got rid of DOMA in the 13 states [and District of Columbia] where gay people can marry, so we\u2019ll get [federal] benefits there. I was terrified that I\u2019d die and David would have to give so much money to the government from our house that he wouldn\u2019t have any money left.\u201d Because of death duties?\u201cYes. I\u2019m grateful for that. We said we wouldn\u2019t get married until we got the benefits.\u201d Are you hopeful about the future of gays in America?\u201cI\u2019m essentially a hopeful person. We\u2019ve weathered a storm here, yes, because we fought back. It\u2019s not been easy.\u201d\u2014Dotson RaderPhoto by Bruce Glikas for Broadway.com  "},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"The Normal Heart Playwright Larry Kramer: I Don’t Know Why Gay People Are Hated, But We Are","item":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/the-normal-heart-playwright-larry-kramer-i-dont-know-why-gay-people-are-hated-but-we-are\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]