Out British actor Rupert Everett said
in a recent interview that he doesn't believe Oscar Wilde would have
used Grindr, the dating app for gay and bisexual men.
Everett, who is best known for his
roles in My Best Friend's Wedding and An Ideal Husband,
wrote, directed and stars in the upcoming film The Happy Prince,
which looks at the life of gay Irish poet and playwright Oscar Wilde.
(Related: Rupert
Everett: Oscar Wilde was the start of the gay liberation movement.)
“Grindr's about sending a picture of
your asshole,” Everett, 59, said. “Wilde enjoyed the romance of
meeting somebody.”
“I think what he loved is people and
discovering people.”
“Sex came to him quite late, really.
… And I think he was timid about it at first. Then, when he met
Alfred Douglas, and Alfred Douglas was a Grindr-ish person, he
introduced Wilde to much more sex, possibly.”
“But, still, Wilde was very
interested in people. He gave tons of boys and young men cigarette
cases and stuff like that. It would intimate he made personal
contact, I think, with people,” he
added.
The Happy Prince opens in
October.