hollywood

Updated: May 01, 2018 17:03 IST

Action superstar Jackie Chan’s estranged daughter, Etta Ng, has accused her parents of being “homophobic” and has posted a video seeking help. The video alleges that the 18-year-old, along with her girlfriend, were thrown out of their house because of their sexuality. However, Jackie Chan, who is supposed to have had an affair with Etta’s mother, a former beauty queen, has never really had a relationship with the teen, it is believed. So it’s not clear if he is the reason behind the girl’s homelessness.

“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 shit,” Etta says in the video. Reports said that Chan was asked for a comment, but gave none.

‘They do more harm to themselves than the community’

Following this, the subject of celebrities and homophobia has come up again. Designer Suneet Varma tells us, “I remember [actor] Mel Gibson’s career took a nosedive, when he had 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 as it was before. So when celebrities do say such things, they do more harm to themselves than the community. I mean, if it’s true that Jackie has thrown his daughter out because he is a homophobe, then I’m not going to watch any of his films in future.”

‘I’ll be there for his daughter, if she needs me’

Former Mr Gay India Sushant Divgikr states 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 against the LGBTQ community. I’ll be there for his daughter, if she needs me. It’s not my problem, or it doesn’t concern me that some people, even if they are celebrities, have such a thought process. It’s their loss at the end of the day,” he says.

‘It’s something that they should be ashamed of’

Filmmaker Onir, however, does feel strongly about homophobic utterances or actions by famous people. He feels that “regressive comments” from celebrities against the LGBTQ community show them in the negative light. “It’s something that they should be ashamed of. It’s certainly not a very glorifying thing to say. And when situations like this happen, those who’re a part of the community become aware that there are people who think like this. And even those who’re homophobic get to understand that their thought process won’t be appreciated anymore,” he says.

‘The LGBTQ community has experienced a major transformation’

According to wedding planner Punit Jasuja, international celebs showing homophobia is less of a problem now than what it used to be. “The LGBTQ community, in India and overseas, has experienced a major transformation over the past decade,” he says. “The latest evolution is highlighted by major stars who are coming out. In this case, if anything, they’re going to avoid Jackie Chan. As it happened with [sexual harassment accused actor] Kevin Spacey and the #MeToo movement, people were very quick and decisive to say, ‘We don’t associate ourselves with him.’ In this case as well, there’s no difference between homophobia and racism; and people, in today’s times, are generally very quick to disassociate themselves from anyone who thinks like this.”

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