Michael Cimino has received "death threats" over his role in 'Love, Victor'
The 21-year-old actor is heterosexual and admitted he's experienced a backlash against his casting as gay character Victor Salazar in the series, and though it's something he expected, the show is too "important" to him for him to have turned the role down
21 June 2021
He told Attitude magazine: "I’ve definitely had some criticism from the LGBT community for being in the role.
"I’ve had death threats, which is horrible. But the show is important to me. The messages of hate -- I came into it knowing that would happen, regardless of how good I was."
Michael was shocked to receive "homophobic comments" from his own family as a result of the show.
He said:" I got some homophobic comments -- I kind of expected that to happen. I didn’t expect it from my own family members, though.
"Some of them reached out, saying, ‘You used to be so cool; now you’re so gay.' I chalk it up to ignorance. People have that programming and they often don’t have to evolve and try to push past that."
The actor insisted there's "nothing wrong with being gay" and he is aware of the "honour" and "responsibility" that comes with his lead role in the show.
He said: "That ignorance is often something that’s been passed on from generations prior. I always approach that [by saying], ‘These are normal people that are struggling and they shouldn’t have to struggle.’
"That’s not how [to] be an ally, that’s not how you support LGBT rights. If you’re not an actual ally, then what are you doing?
"It’s an honour to play Victor, and a big responsibility. I went in with the pure intent to represent that correctly. I held myself to a really high standard to make sure everyone going through this story felt represented by the show."
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