Out actor Haaz Sleiman speaks out on Hollywood hypocrisy – and about hooking up with Anderson Cooper

Haaz Sleiman recently came out as a gay man and he’s got plenty to say in a new interview with Unicorn Booty.

On coming out publicly: I have always wanted to come out. Something has been brewing in my mind … all my life. I knew I was gay when I was 7 years old. I know I was born that way. I spent my whole life hiding. I’m a Lebanese Muslim, growing up in an Arab country. It was not easy for me. I had a very tough childhood.”

On coming out as a ‘total bottom’: “Not just globally but within the community, bottoms are looked down upon. They are considered less than. There are so many bottoms, and it’s so disrespectful how they are treated. My reasoning is to say the world, ‘Just because I’m a bottom doesn’t mean you can fuck with me.’ Bottom shaming is no different than sexism. We don’t take bottoms as seriously. We say, ‘Tops are better.’ And then we eyeroll when we hear that someone is a bottom. We hear that men are more worthy than women, and men are the center of the world. It is the same when it comes to the dynamic between bottoms and tops. It is OK if he is fucking another man but it’s not if he is being fucked by another man.”

On Hollywood hypocrisy: “There are two people right now in power who were so horrible to me. One of them — a producer — told me they wouldn’t hire a closeted gay actor. ‘I never hire gay guys who are in the closet, but if you come out, I will not be able to cast you in a lot of roles.’ Another huge iconic gay figure saw me at a party and he came up to me. He pursued me because he was a fan of my work. I got excited to share with him that I was gay, and he was like, ‘Oh? Thank you for telling me.’ But his tone changed. He thought I was straight before. Once he found out I was gay and in the closet, he wasn’t interested anymore. A lot of people in the gay community still have an issue when someone else is in the closet. If you’re straight and play gay, that’s awesome! If you’re too gay, you can’t play that straight role.”

On Anderson Cooper: Sleiman was asked if the ‘Hollywood gay’ in question might be Anderson Cooper. He insisted that it’s not but added: “We hooked up a few times. Let’s just say I was not for him, he was not for me.”