JACKIE'S GAY CHILD SPARKS DEBATE ON CELEB ATTITUDE
Reacting to Jackie Chan’s homeless daughter’s video, the Indian LGBTQ community says homophobia can boomerang
Jackie Chan’s 18-yearold daughter, Etta Ng, has accused her father and mother of being homophobic, and has said that she and her partner were thrown out because of the same reason. In a video, the couple said that they have been living on the roadside, because neither their family nor their friends are supporting them.
“We’ve been homeless for a month due to homophobic parents. We pretty much slept under a bridge, and other things. We’ve gone to the police, we’ve gone to the hospitals, the food banks, the LGBTQ community shelters and all of them just don’t give a s**t,” Etta said in the video.
Following the video, many feel that celebs shoot themselves in the foot when they reveal that they are homophobic.
Designer Suneet Varma says, “Mel Gibson’s career took a nosedive when he said something homophobic a while back. Every third fan of him was a homosexual, and they didn’t like what he said, and his career wasn’t the same again. So when celebrities say such things, they do more harm to themselves than the community. If it is true that Jackie has thrown his daughter out because he is a homophobe, then I am not going to see his films in the future.” Sushant Divgikr, former Mr. Gay India, also feels that homophobic comments or revelations don’t bother the community at all. “I don’t care about what Jackie Chan thinks, or says, or in fact what any celebrity has to say about the LGBTQ community. I will be there for his daughter if she needs me. It’s their loss at the end of the day,” he says. Filmmaker Onir, too feels that “regressive comments” from celebrities against the LGBTQ community cast them in the negative light. “It’s something that they should be ashamed of. It’s not a very glorifying thing to say. When incidents like this happen, the community understands that there are people who think like this. And even those who are homophobic also learn and get to understand that their thought process won’t be appreciated anymore,” he says.
Wedding planner Punit Jasuja, too, doesn’t think that celebrities’ homophobic comments impact the LGBTQ community negatively. “The LGBTQ community in India and the world has evolved over
When stars say such things, they do more harm to themselves than the community. If it is true that Jackie has thrown his daughter out because he is a homophobe, I am not going to watch any of his films in the future. SUNEET VARMA, DESIGNER
the past decade. The latest evolution is highlighted by major stars coming out. In this case, if anything, they are going to avoid Jackie Chan. As it with Kevin Spacey and the #MeToo movement, people were quick to distance themselves from him. In this case, there’s no difference between homophobia or racism, and people in today’s times are generally very quick to disassociate themselves with anyone who thinks like this,” he says.