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Invitation to Billy and Chuck's Wedding

I think we have a thread elsewhere on this...even if we don't it's in the wrong category because:

1) I've read that they're not gay in real life
2) pro wrestling is NOT A SPORT!!!!!!!

Thanks, Joe. I don't watch WWE anymore because it's too phony. And this marriage kind of thing is passable as entertainment for 20-year-old heterosexual guys who like "male" action and making fun of gays, but they aren't really learning anything.

Even though it may be a basic intro for some, it's still a blow below the belt, in my opinion.

As much as I hate to admit I do watch WWE occasionally (the action may be fake, but the muscles are real!), I did hear them announce this travesty on Monday. Apparently GLAAD is happy with this "storyline" and believes it is an improvement because audiences are not jeering the wrestlers. They think this is a good learning experience for potential gay-bashers and closeted teenagers.

Well, all I heard Monday night were jeers, and according to the Washington Post (alert - revealing details of what will happen tonight), when the "ceremony" was taped, the audience chanted "just say no" and the wrestlers stopped the event just in time to proclaim their true heterosexuality.

I fail to see how this is progress. The Post argues that resistance to gays in pro sports shouldn't be an issue, because if wrestling fans can handle this, any other sports fans could as well. I have my doubts.

Yeah, they were on Howard this morning going out of their way to say they were straight and how they have girlfriends, and all that. This isn't exactly a huge step, you know?

I certainly hope that that's not the case with them stopping the ceremony and proclaimong their hetness. I mean... they were on the today show and did not say anything about the "the characters are gonna come out as straights" angle.

I know that the characters are separate from the real life lives of the two guys. (although one of them Billy, did strike me as being gay) and they did proclaim their hetness on the show. But as the "show" of WWE is concerned... I hope the wedding does happen. I think it would be cool. I know a couple of wrestlers who would like to do the same thing in real life.

This post is a spoiler for any WWE fans that want to see it unfold.

That is definitely true, at the moment they're supposed to say "I Do" they both falter and come out as really being straight. Then the person doing the wedding reveals himself as some nefarious character Eric Bischoff. I know nothing about WWE, but I thought this might bring a good guy/guy kiss to regular cable TV which would be cool regardless of the true sexuality of the actors.

Unfortunately, it just perpetuates the idea that gay people can just switch whenever they feel like it. Luckily no one watches this stuff anymore. The Washington Post writer who reported this definitely didn't keep his distaste for WWE very much below the surface. he probably wants the word to get out so that the gay community doesn't tune in and increase the ratings just to see this.

I wonder what GLAAD's going to say about this?? Can you say "patronizing"?

The sad thing is GLAAD supports this. I will be updating my previous article, Pro Wrestlings Closet to reflect recent events. I have some comments I need to make, even as a WWE fan.

I dunno, there is not a word on GLAAD's Website about wrestling, wrestlers or WWE, nor any mention of such a statement in the NYTimes. On the 'Net Google finds people saying that GLAAD "took an ecuminical position" on Chuck and Billy's antics. Z-104.5 The Edge in Tulsa reports that the "marriage" has "gotten the blessing of GLAAD". The only part that's missing is the reality of any statement from GLAAD. There's probably a good reason not to believe the rumors. I going to write them and ask.

[ September 12, 2002: Message edited by: redsoxbreath ]

GLAAD sent to the Today Show a letter/statement in support of what they were doing. Matt Lauer read the letter and presented the couple with the gravy bowl sent as a gift by GLAAD. I don't think the Today Show would do all that as a prank.

Whatever the case, the thing was .... disappointing(???) But I suppose.......... what else can I expect from a pro wrestling staged event? This stunt wasn't necessarily pro or anti gay. It was just another one of the "and now we're gonna do this..... But wait!! Here comes a gang of guys to ambush them and knock them on their asses!" deals

same old same old.

[ September 12, 2002: Message edited by: ung ]

Ok, sorry, I stand corrected. That's different then.

[quote]Originally posted by ung:
Whatever the case, the thing was .... disappointing(???) [ September 12, 2002: Message edited by: ung ]

---

So did they get married or NOT??

Well Copman, I watched the stupid thing and still can't figure out whether they got married or not. I just hope they televise the honeymoon.

I saw them on the Today show - they seemed pleasant but why did they have to say that they were straight? Why not stay IN character?

I knew it was too good to be true.

It turned out to be a stupid ploy by the people who did RAW! to capitalize on the season premiere. Chuck and Billy are not gay at all. I knew it was a crock of bull. And Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley, the witness at the "ceremony" and daughter of Sir Vince McMahon, was the biggest victim of it all, for she was clobbered by RAW! henchmen, sent in by the leader of RAW, who masqueraded as the Justice of the Peace.

I am sorry, but this is an all-time low for the WWE. It seemed to make a mockery out of gay unions and gay people in general. I felt so dirty after watching the carnage unfold. If there really IS a gay wrestler (be it someone like The Rock or one of the WWE Divas), let's hope that it is not being played for cheap thrills.

hey guys - lighten up! it's only a tv show with makebelieve characters and plots, okay? did you really think it was real?

In a duplicate thread, amazin12 posted

I agree with John McClelland's article in that the same sex wedding stunt by Vince McMahon on WWE Smackdown last night was a disaster. And it did absolutely nothing but severely hurt the chances of individuals in professonal sports to come out. It was not surprising to me to hear the on-going booing of the young male-dominated audience during the 'skit'. Booing which immediately ceased when they declared their heterosexuality. Booing which turned to cheers when the two started to get their asses kicked.

I believe I heard WWE recently had a program devoted to lesbians battling each other in the ring. I can only imagine the sexist cheers that must have come out of the crowd for that event. Also I read on a wrestling message board that the ratings for WWE are down and at least one male wrestling fan complained that he didn't like the direction WWE has been going in.

After watching this program last night, I really feel we are a very long way from seeing an openly gay major league baseball player step up to the plate. Probably won't ever happen.


bluebird48234 replied

With all due repsect to the guys in this community who thought that the WWE wedding was going to be contructive for us and a boost for wrestling, it turns out that they have a lot of rethinking to do.

Mind you, I used to "enjoy" WWE just as entertainment, but then decided that it conflicted with my morals and regimen of high self esteem. Not homophile enough, and too "on the fence", if not just plain derogatory.

I tuned in at 9:00pm, trying to go along, and I did watch most of it. And, that's saying a lot, because when I heard the singers start "It's Raining Men", I thought: this is a wedding. Even for WWE, this is a little off. Well, little did I know.

The acting was unacceptable. The Justice of the Peace they used, even as a joke, was a bad joke. The pimp and his scantily-clad entourage professing that Billy and Chuck were traitors (they had, apparently, been "ladies' men") and thay they were "missing out". I could go on and on, but I won't. I had to turn (just in time for Will and Grace - if only to clear my mind and get my bearings) when they exclaimed in digust and shock, "[We're] not gay. This was just a stunt, right? This has gone too far."

Asinine. Completely asinine. I think even a teenager, there with his girlfriend, who would have suffereed through it just to see a real wedding between two men who could wrestle professionally would have been peeved at what was a waste of time for the audience, TV, and the general public. Now we'll have to hear for couple of days what a colossal lie this was.

You would think that, if suffering institutions really cared about their LGBT markets just as people who might be persuaded to buoy them up in financially difficult times, they would at least be accurate in character portrayal. Quite to the contrary, it seems that no research was done for this. From what I saw, a couple of freshmen college students spending one day on the Web could have researched this better. Well, I probably won't ever have a reason to watch WWE again, and trust me, I won't miss it.

P.S. By the way, although Will and Grace is not the most popular show amongst us, I want you to know that last night's show was superb. There was, in my opinion, an intensive discussion about the pros and cons of W&G considering parenting a child together as best friends, and Jack had a real-life epiphany regarding his lack of preparation for an acting career (translation: his antics could not replace solid acting skills).

This was the least I needed to repair from my last (I hope) bad experience with WWE.

No more WWE for me!!


wade n atlanta replied

Since everything in pro "wrastling" is all a put on, I am not in the least bit surprised that this was the outcome of the publicized ceremony. I am completely offended by the mockery, and feel it will lead to more "queer" bashing by the nimble minded that actually do believe that WWE is real. I smell a lawsuit coming on, and deservedly so!


amazin12 replied

It just hit me in that last night's WWE stunt reminds me a lot of "The Jerry Springer Show". When the guests are openly gay men discussing their relationship problems, the majority of the audience boos profusely. When the guests are lesbians discussing their relationship problems, the majority of the audience cheers and hollers like animals.


azairforce replied

I cant believe anyone was expecting anything less than what happened last night on WWE.


bluebird48234 replied

I am leaning toward the thought that, of the audience, most people had to have liked it; because there probably weren't any adverse reactions from them.....

[ September 14, 2002: Message edited by: m1 ]

Hogeye...the anti-gay sentiment of the audience was REAL and THAT's the point.

I just read the reply from Scott Seomin of GLAAD and I just have to ask: is he that utterly DENSE to think that the same dolts who have trashed our television screens for so many years would actually do a gay-POSITIVE storyline?

Frankly, I can't believe ANYONE could have fallen for that--the Today Show, the newspapers, etc. What has the WWE ever done to earn such trust? They've had anti-gay displays before. They had to admit that their "sport" was not a sport in order to avoid all kinds of legal problems. They tried to foist the XFL on us, for God's sake!

*Shudder* As people are prone to do, they block out horrible memories to be able to cope. I'd forgotten about the XFL. Thanks a lot for reminding me, Joe!

And yeah, GLAAD just seems totally irrelevant these days. They did great work in the 80's/early 90's but the death knell sounded when the studios gave them access. Instead of being feisty outsiders, they're now part of The System. They seem a little disconnected from reality.

And ever since the leader of a band I was in totally trashed 2 months of tough rehearsals and a great opening gig of a tour of the LA clubs by breaking up the band and declaring that he was going to following the WWF around, I've hated "pro" wrestling with all the fire of all the suns in the universe. A pox on them; they are sooooo 5 years ago, now they can go back to the hole from whence they came.

I just had to note that yes I am a huge pro wrestling fan of the last 18 yrs, but obviously not a fan of how they treat the gay characters.

I kind of figured this sort of thing would happen with the wedding, just because of the way wrestling ends up having different people turn on each other in their stories. However, to have the media jump on it like that and portray it as positive was lame. Especially from GLAAD. I told Scott Seomin the same thing when he got upset when I used his quotes from the Washington Post (dated 9/11). We're all here to speak our opinions.

But I'll continue to watch the WWE, even if they did have "hot lesbian action" on their Monday Night Raw program.

-John McClelland

[ September 14, 2002: Message edited by: DallasUNC ]