Actor Tyler James Williams depicted a black gay male in the film Dear White People recently, and he had some choice words for the black community about its views on homosexuality. “Whether we like to address it or not, the African American community is notoriously homophobic,” he said. “We have been coming up on this rough side of the mountain as far as civil rights issues go, but we haven’t necessarily addressed the fact that there is a whole other side to that civil rights coin, which are gay rights.” Williams said this in an interview with Huff Post Live as he sat to talk about the complexity of his role in the break out indie film. He said he was quick to take on the role because it challenges dominant perceptions of gay characters. “I feel like the new stereotypical characters are gay characters, where you can’t just have a regular everyday guy who just happens to be gay, just like many people that I know.” Why must black celebrities and entertainers continue to degrade the black community through media outlets and public forums? This type of slanderous rhetoric is only harming rather than helping. His assessment is also untrue. There are many gay members is black churches all across America. Homophobia is notorious in the dominant society. How is this concept more of a problem in the black community? Williams said he received backlash for his portrayal in the film. “There’s this interesting thing in the black community of staying real…always representing the community well, which is frustrating in a lot of ways and stressful as well,” he said. “It’s hard to please everybody and stay black and proud.” Williams also failed to mention that there is racism in the gay community as well. Perhaps once those issues are addressed, and then blacks can move on to tackle our own so called homophobia. Is Williams another in a long line of black entertainers that are cozying up to white supremacy in order toget preferential treatment? You be the judge.

The original/complete interview can be seen on huffingtonpost.com.