Joel Kim Booster, star of Fire Island, has responded to the outcry over Billy Eichner's remarks about LGBTQ+ films being released on streaming services.
Eichner caused controversy over remarks he made while promoting his latest film, the LGBTQ+romcom Bros.
"This is not an indie film. This is not some streaming service that feels disposable, or which is like one of a million Netflix shows," he said (via Variety) about Bros, which some people perceived to be disrespecting LGBTQ+ movies released via streaming services.
Booster has now responded to his remarks and the response that followed.
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"I'm not entirely certain what happened, but I feel like I should clarify: Billy was my first comedy boss, is my friend, has supported me in many ways in the creation of Fire Island, and our films ultimately had little to do with each other.
"It seems like he was rather clumsy in his excitement about his film getting a theatrical release, which is really f**king cool and something he's likely to talk about, both internally and externally."
"I'm so proud of my film and all the people who helped make it happen, and I'm also so grateful it was so accessible to so many people on streaming, and don't see it as any less valuable because of that."
"That being said, I'm so excited to see Bros on screen and wish Billy nothing but the best. I truly hope you can enjoy both or neither of our films without putting them against each other.
"I've spoken to Billy and we're friendly, and I'm way too busy reading my 769 unread notes and making jokes about Burning Man to concentrate on this," he said.
"Thank you to everyone for being so kind," says the author.
Eichner has also tweeted a response, saying, "I want to clarify what I said about Variety's streaming content. I was not at all referring to the quality or massive impact of streaming films, I was referring to the way that LGBTQ+ content has traditionally been viewed and ignored by Hollywood.
"I have been openly gay since the beginning of my career over 20 years ago, at a time when it was very difficult. I am very proud of Bros as one of many projects that we are all able to participate in and share our own LGBTQ+ stories."
Fire Island is available on Star on Disney+ in the United Kingdom and on Hulu in the United States.