Zachary Quinto: My Comments About AIDS, PrEP, Were "Almost Entirely Misconstrued"
Zachary Quinto is responding to criticism about his recent comments in Out, suggesting that gay men have gotten "lazy" about AIDS, and worrying that PrEP will encourage them to be irresponsible.
Quinto insists his comments were "almost entirely misconstrued."
In an interview for the Out 100, Quinto lamented that younger gay men don't remember the "edge of horror" AIDS used to have. “Today’s generation sees it more as something to live with and something to be much less fearful of," he opined. "And that comes with a sense of, dare I say, laziness.”
About PrEP, Quinto warned that antiretroviral drugs like Truvada aren't just a free pass for more recreational sex: “There’s an incredible underlying irresponsibility to that way of thinking," he said, "and we don’t yet know enough about this vein of medication to see where it’ll take us down the line.”
"I have deep compassion and empathy for people living with HIV/AIDS. I am assuredly not internally homophobic or poz-phobic or willfully ignorant regarding this issue. I am a well-adjusted and well-educated gay man," the Star Trek star wrote. "I have read and understand the way PrEP works, and at least the most basic science behind its practical applications."
The concern, Quinto says, lies with the attitude among some young gay men "that we can let our guard down against this still-very-real threat to our collective well-being."
I have had numerous conversations in my travels with young gay people who see the threat of HIV as diminished to the point of near irrelevance. I have heard too many stories of young people taking PrEP as an insurance policy against their tendency toward unprotected non-monogamous sex. THAT is my only outrage.
How gay men have sex with each other was unilaterally redefined for nearly two generations as a result of AIDS. I was simply trying to assert my belief that we need to be especially vigilant and accountable to ourselves and one another at this moment in our evolution.
It is a tremendous advancement in the fight against the disease that scientists have developed this particular medication. But it's still early—that's all. So if what I said—however misconstrued—plays some small part in generating more meaningful informative and passionate conversations—particularly among the younger generation—then I am grateful.
And I can almost see it as a way of further serving the community that I deeply admire and respect—and from which I am so proud to hail.
Quinto came out as gay in 2010, the year after he played Prior Walter in the Signature Theater's off-Broadway production of Angels in America.
