Mila Kunis: “Being gay is cool. I wish gay kids realized that earlier in their lives”

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Mila Kunis has an extensive interview in the new issue of The Advocate and… God, I just love this girl. She seems so laid-back and cool and sweet. The interview is very long (full piece here), but she covers most of the hot topics Advocate readers want to hear about – the Black Swan’s lesbian scene, Mila’s gay BFF, bullying, her sex scenes with Justin Timberlake in Friends With Benefits, and whether Family Guy is anti-gay. I took out a bunch of Family Guy stuff, though, just because I found it a little boring. Mila is obviously proud of the show, and she stands up for it, and for Seth Macfarlane. Anyway, here are my favorite parts (there are a lot of them):

The Advocate: Did you know how much gay audiences were going to swoon over Black Swan?
Mila Kunis: Well, we didn’t have Cher in our movie, but we figured gay people would still be into it. [Laughs] I grew up in West Hollywood, in the heart of the gay community, so I’ve always been attuned with the gays. My first gay friend came out in junior high, but I always gravitated toward gay people.

How do you explain that connection?
I was raised in a household where there wasn’t a separation between straight people and gay people, so I never saw being gay as something out of the ordinary. When I first started going out, I’d go to the Abbey, Micky’s, or Akbar, because all my friends were gay. I’m a massive “fairy princess,” as I like to call it. But even at the age of 10, I never thought it was weird to see two guys holding hands and making out. It wasn’t until I was about 19 when I realized that the whole world didn’t share the same views as I did.

Tell me about your best gay friend.
I’ve known David for many years, and he’s awesome. He comes from a half-Hispanic, half-white family; half didn’t accept him when he came out of the closet, and the other half completely embraced it. But looking at David, I still don’t understand how anyone in his family didn’t know he was gay. [Laughs] We like to see movies together, and we travel a bit. He likes hipster music — he wears skinny jeans and Converse shoes — so sometimes I’ll go sit and suffer while he listens to random bands that I’ve never heard of. He’s also the only person I trust to watch my dogs when I’m out of town. David has a boyfriend, and they want to get married. He and I go to a lot of the gay functions, the AIDS walks, and we protested together when Prop. 8 first passed. I’m still baffled that it passed, and I swear it’s because so many people were confused about the wording of the proposition. I’m not some big public activist, but I privately support all of my gay friends who are affected by that verdict.

Long before the film came out, the media was already focusing on Black Swan’s same-sex love scene. Did that annoy you?
No, but it is surprising how many times that’s all people wanted to talk about. I just wish everyone could walk out of an hour-and-a-half movie with something to talk about other than that one scene.

Did you see Lily, your character in Black Swan, as a lesbian?
Not at all. I just saw her as a free spirit living her 20s in New York City.

Did you go through a period of experimentation?
There was no need to experiment because I knew what I wanted. I was a very late bloomer, so it took me a long time to become comfortable with who I was, physically and sexually, but once I did, I knew what I liked. All my friends were experimenting around me, though.

So you lived vicariously through them?
I actually live vicariously through the characters I play. I love that I get to live all these different little lives.

ADVOCATE: Your next film, Friends with Benefits, also looks pretty racy. In the trailer, you’re shown standing in front of a naked Justin Timberlake and sizing up his goods. Set the scene: What were you really looking at?
KUNIS: We had two weeks worth of sex scenes to shoot. Justin would just wear a sock that covered his frontal parts, so yeah, I could pretty much see everything. And I had tiny nipple pasties and a little pasty on my hoohah. We couldn’t have been more uncomfortable in the beginning, but by the fourteenth day, we’d just drop our robes, like, “Hey, how’s it goin’?”

ADV: Does your boyfriend, Macaulay Culkin [with whom she has since broken up], ever get jealous of that kind of thing?
MK: Well, when you sign up for a movie called Friends with Benefits, you kind of know what you’re getting yourself into. But it’s work. It’s all very strategic, because there are 150 crew members trying to light you and make sure no one can see your pasties. And Justin couldn’t have been more of a gentleman, because it can be very awkward.

A very similar-sounding rom-com, No Strings Attached, stars your Black Swan costar Natalie Portman and Ashton Kutcher, with whom you starred on That ’70s Show. Am I the only one blown away by this coincidence?
You know, in however many weeks of press I did for Black Swan, you might be the first person to point that out to me.

In a flash-forward episode of Family Guy, Meg becomes a transgender man. How do you see her sexuality?
Meg is still exploring her sexuality. Meg just wants to be loved, so she doesn’t really give a hoot who it comes from.

ADV: In another [Family Guy] episode, Meg pretends to be a “super huge mega-lesbian” to infiltrate her school’s lesbian club because being gay makes her cooler.
MK: Being gay is cool. I just wish gay kids realized that earlier in their lives.

In the 1998 HBO movie Gia, you played the younger version of lesbian supermodel Gia Carangi, who was played as an adult by Angelina Jolie. What do you remember about that experience?
My parents never let me read the script, so I didn’t even understand what movie I was making. I had no clue until the premiere. Angelina Jolie was very sweet to me and my family, but when you’re a kid in Hollywood, there aren’t many people who aren’t nice to you.

I imagine it’s quite an honor to be cast as a young Angelina Jolie.
Absolutely, but I was too young to appreciate it when it was happening. I’m sure I would’ve rather been doing another Barbie commercial at the time.

Because your family moved you to Los Angeles from the Ukrainian SSR at the age of 7, you’ve spoken in past interviews about how you felt different and ostracized at school. Do you have any words of comfort or encouragement for today’s victims of antigay bullying?
I’ll never know what it’s like to be gay, so it would be unfair for me to compare my situation to something as extreme as the bullying of young gay people. Yes, I was bullied, but I was bullied for having big eyes and a funny accent. Yes, I cried when kids picked on me, but it didn’t make me second-guess who I was. This bullying today is making gay kids second-guess themselves, which is leading some of them to go take their own lives. It’s just absurd that this kind of thing is still going on.

Your Snooki spoof on the Late Late Show and your Audrina Patridge impersonation for FunnyOrDie.com gave me the impression that you frown upon the vapid young Hollywood scene and likely wouldn’t enjoy a night on the town with Lindsay Lohan. True?
True. Sometimes I wish I had a little bit of that in me, but I just don’t. I prefer to stay home, take a bath, have a glass of wine, and watch Bravo. I don’t want to go to the hottest club, dance on tables, get photographed, and then spend the next day denying it ever happened.

Bravo, huh?
I’ve often been told I’m a gay man in a woman’s body.

[From The Advocate]

See? Didn’t you fall in love with her a little bit? My girl-crush on her is very, very strong. This is what I want: I want Mila Kunis and Natalie Portman to both receive Oscar nominations, and I want them both to lose. Mila will lose just because, you know, people like her but they’re not going to give her an Oscar. And Natalie will lose because… well, whatever. Annette Bening is cooler. Anyway, I’d like to see the dichotomy of the two losing girls – Natalie will be super-pissed, and Mila will be all “Where’s the party?!” I want Mila to get lots of work. More work, more interviews, more pretty Mila.

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Photos courtesy of WENN.

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61 Responses to “Mila Kunis: “Being gay is cool. I wish gay kids realized that earlier in their lives””

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  1. lili says:

    so stupid

  2. Original Gracie says:

    She is like a breath of fresh air.

    I think that Mila is one of the most breathtakingly beautiful women I have ever seen…..and yet she is so so accessible as a person and so cool and grounded.

    Just love her.

  3. CubaLibre says:

    “Being gay is cool. I just wish gay kids realized that earlier in their lives.”
    If anybody else had been making comments as inane as these Kaiser would have torn them apart.
    I like Mila, but she sounds like an idiot in this interview.

  4. Bubbling says:

    Yes, she truly is awesome! I especially liked the part where she said that she was bullied but could never compare that to gay kids being bullied. I like her, she got me!
    Also, I would like to add that when she said “gay is cool” , I think she didn’t mean “everybody go gay cause that’s so cool right now” , just that it’s totally ok to be gay, ain’t no shame in it

  5. MK says:

    >> Being gay is cool. I just wish gay kids realized that earlier in their lives <<

    Tell that to ALL the children [and adults for that matter] who have been bullied/are being bullied ONLY because of being gay!

  6. Vi says:

    saying that “being gay is cool” sounds a bit silly. just as silly as saying “being straight is cool” or “being french is cool”.

  7. Brit says:

    Officially my favorite new actress. I started paying attention to her in The Book Of Eli and she hasn’t disappointed since.

  8. Rita says:

    I realize many gay people need vocal encouragement to accept and be confortable with their sexuality but I’ll be glad when society gets this whole gay thing sorted out. I mean “gay is cool”? Give me a break. Most gay people scream “do you think I’d be gay if I had a choice?”

    Saying it’s cool to be gay is like telling Michael Jackson its cool to be black.

  9. Johnny Depp's Girl says:

    I like her and I am glad to see her branch out into the spotlight.

    She sounds so cute!

  10. fanny says:

    I get what she means about gay being cool … but she didn’t word it correctly. I can see how (if she was bullied herself) she would sympathize with those more likely to be bullied, such as people who are gay. IMO she is very pretty, indeed, but in an ordinary way.

  11. Rita says:

    @Vi

    I think being french would be cool…well being able to speak french.

  12. jasper says:

    why can’t people just look at what she is saying as something positive? There is a desire to want everyone (no matter the gender, sexual nature, colour) to live together with some peace. Yes, it’s difficult in today’s society…a little coaxing on any side is warranted and welcomed. I wish I could live around that optimism.

  13. mln76 says:

    Being gay is cool-and being around gay men especially is alot of fun. But I did think the gay sex scene in The Black Swan was kind of cheesy.

  14. embertine says:

    OK, the “being gay is cool” comment seems inane out of context but in response to that specific question I think it’s a great, laid-back way to answer it.

  15. samihami says:

    “Annette Bening is cooler”

    Are you nuts? Seriously, how could that thought even form in your mind? Bening is okay. She’s an average actress with average talent and a moderate level of fame, which she probably wouldn’t have had if she hadn’t married Warren Beatty.

    Mika Kunis is cool because she just IS.

  16. Arianna says:

    mila kunis for hot girl friday!! hahaha
    totally love her more and more everytime i read about her
    if she got bullied for those eyes as a kid her classmates must have been aliens

  17. Roma says:

    I took her “being gay is cool” as being more of a reassurance to kids who are struggling about their sexuality. They’re so confused and fearful and she’s all “come on out, we have mimosas here.”

  18. Trace says:

    Her “being gay is cool” is a direct response to a question about how her Meg character wants to be a mega-lesbian because “being gay makes her cooler” (interviewer’s words, not her’s). Sheesh people, she was just reflecting the inane question in her answer.

    I really like your scenario re: the Oscar noms, Kaiser. I hope Mila gets more work and we see more of her on screen. She is gorgeous and even more so personality-wise.

  19. Ferguson. says:

    i like her, a lot.
    wish she was my bff.

  20. nycmom10024 says:

    But have you seen Black Swan? It is awful and I don’t care who loves it. It is a sexed up version of the Red Shoes thats all. Mila was pretty good in her role, but Natalie Portman was bad or the direction was bad, I really don’t know which. I feel like the little boy who screams, But he’s wearing no clothes when the naked emperor marches by in his new clothes. Black Swan was awful and made me laugh in all the wrong places. Barbara Hershy was a hoot.

    Annette was interesting in her role, but not really a likeable character. Now Juliann Moore was waonderful.

  21. ohplease says:

    She’s always been one of the younger actress whom i think is very beautiful all around..

    she could not get any cooler for me..go Mila!

  22. Rasputina says:

    Some people are overly sensitive in these comments. YOu sure love to tear up people over trivialities.

  23. mymy says:

    My opinion of her has dropped down significantly due to this interview.
    So juvenile.Did she live in a bubble? It took her until 19 to realize people have a problem with gays?Come on.I get a distinct feeling she thinks it is special to have a gay friend. My best friend is gay and he would not be happy with me if I said. Being gay is cool.

  24. Vi says:

    @rita: ha ha yeah ok maybe speaking french is cool. i just thought she made it sound like “gay” is so in this season. but i guess she was probably just trying to express her support.

  25. Leticia says:

    RITA, I was relieved to read your post. You read my mind. Totally agree.

  26. Moreaces says:

    I agree, the more I experience this young lady the more I fall in love with her. Truely a breath of fresh air.

  27. Moreaces says:

    @MK
    >> Being gay is cool. I just wish gay kids realized that earlier in their lives <<

    Tell that to ALL the children [and adults for that matter] who have been bullied/are being bullied ONLY because of being gay!

    ======================
    I think that’s exactly what she just did.

  28. lucy says:

    Every day I love her even more. She’s so beautiful and talent. Natalie must be walking over the walls knowing that Mila can get her out of the spotlight without pregnancy or a last minute engagement.

  29. TQB says:

    @mymy, I take it you’ve never been to W. Hollywood. You could probably call it a “bubble.”

    Whatever, she’s awesome. love.

  30. Kiki says:

    I honestly don’t think -in my opinion-, that being gay is “cool.” I honestly think gay people are more likely to become depressed and feel inadequate and that’s soooo uncool. But that’s just my opinion.

  31. kiko says:

    “I’ve often been told I’m a gay man in a woman’s body.”

    god i hate people like her…

  32. Samantha says:

    I want to see her and Seth get together now that she and Culkin are broken up. Is that weird? -_-

  33. mymy says:

    Oh I have been to W. Hollywood. Even in W. Hollywood people have a clue.

  34. I Choose Me says:

    Wow! Some seriously nit-picky people up in here. If you’ve read the entire scope of her comments, you’d see she’s not saying being gay is cool, in that it’s trendy. It’s like saying, it’s cool to be different. And it is!

    Nature is diverse and abhors refinement. To me being gay is just as natural as everything else. Sadly, others don’t share this view but I so look forward to the day when it’s no longer an issue. (Probably after I’m dead) 🙁

    Anyway, I <3 Mila.

  35. omondieu says:

    Oh please, it was an interview with THE ADVOCATE, so of course they’re going to milk her for information on her gay friends and affinity for the gay community. I seriously doubt that she views her gay friends as some sort of a novelty. She’s speaking from the heart about her gay friend. Isn’t it nice to hear an actress talk sincerely about her relationships with “the little people”, rather than about the latest red carpet party she drunkenly stumbled out of the night before?

    Regarding her “being gay is cool” comment, I took it more as a casual affirmation that there’s not a single thing wrong with being gay. As in, “it’s cool, whatever,” not “ZOMG ur soooo cooooool cuz ur gay!!!11”

    Chee, there’s no winning with some of you. If she were advocating some detox diet, you’d jump all over her. Here she’s speaking casually and sincerely about her relationships with her non-Hollywood friends, about growing up, and you bash her.

  36. Jacquie says:

    I see nothing wrong with her comment. It may have been a bit better if she’d said something like “being who you are is cool” but sometimes in interview people do just blurt out the first thing that comes to mind. I see nothing wrong with being gay, it is cool. Just as cool as being straight or thin or fat….
    As long as you own who you are it’s awesome and just because someone doesn’t agree with it doesn’t mean you should feel bad about it.
    I think she’s an awesome actress and an awesome person.

  37. The Bobster says:

    This confirms that Big Foot is a true celebutard.

  38. Ron says:

    Between Natalie in Black Swan and Annette in Kids Are Allright, Natalie wins hands down. I love Annette and think she is deserving, but this role is not an award winner IMHO. I will vote for Natalie at this point, I still need to see a couple of others before I decide offically. Mila seems like a nice balanced cool chick, but for me Best Supporting is Helena Bonham Carter hands down. The offical noms come out soon so we will see who makes the list 🙂

  39. piedlourde says:

    Whoa, people!
    I didn’t interpret “being gay is cool” as “being gay is trendy/awesome”, but as “it is okay to be gay, it shouldn’t be a big deal”.

  40. Anti-icon says:

    I’ve always adored her; thought her talent was substantial and even more importantly, she is a young woman who has always impressed me as so articulate about such really important and mature issues…..she did NOT fail to deliver in this very thoughtful and mature interview.

  41. observer says:

    She’s so awesome. Love her so much.

  42. The Hamm is My Dream Man says:

    I agree with piedlourde. She meant that it’s ok to be gay. It’s cool to be who you are-whoever that might be.

    I’ve been surrounded by gay people my entire life as well and I understand where she’s coming from. I always thought that gay people were just a normal part of life-it wasn’t until I hit high school when I really started paying attention to the news and such that I realized that others had problems with gay people. My schools had zero tolerance policies on bullying though, so that might have something to do with it.

  43. Feebee says:

    I get what’s she’s saying, she’s being supportive. However… I think by saying it’s cool to be gay is still making it sound like it’s a trivial thing, something cosmetic like it’s cool to have hazel eyes or a gap between your teeth. It’s not cool to be gay, it just is. I think until people understand the ‘just is’ there’ll always be bullying and worse.

  44. Camille says:

    <3 her. This interview just makes me like her even more.

  45. grazi says:

    geez the girl said something, so now you guys are trying to find a way to show how her statement could be ambiguous just to have a reason to bash her. anybody who read the interview understood what she meant.
    it seems like people want celebrities to think about the 1000 possibilities of interpretation of everything they say before answering a question. she gave an interview, she didn’t write a book for god’s sake.

  46. Jacqueline says:

    Yes I agree with her. I tutor after school for Boston Public Schools and I can tell you the gay kids are way cooler and more observant. They do need more encouragement to see their potential, just like all kids. But one thing I have noticed is that a lot of teachers, young and old, dont know how to handle the classroom situation when the bullying happens. They themselves also think its ok for the gay kids to be picked on, so sometimes they have no advocate. I always try to leave my mark on them to make sure they never kill themselves or feel ashamed of who they are.

  47. June says:

    Good statement? Yes.

    Good statement in relation to the suicides? Not so much. Just a wee bit, tiny, tiny, bit tactless. But I see her point clearly.

  48. OriginalGracie says:

    @samihami: you said “Seriously, how could that thought even form in your mind? Bening is okay. She’s an average actress with average talent and a moderate level of fame, which she probably wouldn’t have had if she hadn’t married Warren Beatty.”

    Did you see her performance in American Beauty? If you had, you could never say what you did. She was amazing in that movie. She is NOT famous because of her husband. It’s called TALENT.

  49. Zoe says:

    ~saying that “being gay is cool” sounds a bit silly. just as silly as saying “being straight is cool” or “being french is cool”.~

    I disagree. It isn’t the same thing because there is no societal assumption that being straight or french is uncool, which is why you never hear those statements. Saying ‘being gay is cool’ is acceptable precisely because people tend to think the opposite. I think what she’s trying to say is that there is nothing wrong with a person’s sexual orientation and that it’s cool to be yourself, whoever that may be.

    ~”Saying it’s cool to be gay is like telling Michael Jackson its cool to be black.”~

    This is a cheap shot. Go read his 50-page autopsy report which details his skin disease in depth. I can’t believe that even in death, people are still in denial about this man’s condition.

  50. california angel says:

    I think she just meant that as a neutral cool as in she thinks its no different from being any other sexuality, we’re all people just the same. I think she meant that children and adults can be harsh (about any situation) and its too bad that the victimized/bullied kids can’t recognize their harshness for the B.S. it really is before it affects their pysche for the worse. P.S. I know my grammar is horrible, oh well.

  51. beth says:

    this just proves mila doesnt have a gay streak in her. she’d know better than to say things like this, if she did.

  52. grace says:

    Zoe, you couldn’t have said it better!

  53. JenJen says:

    This magazine article is so perturbing to me on so many levels…..

    #1 the ADVOCATE: tell me about your “best,gay friend”…..WTH???What year is this???What magazine???(my head is spinning)

    #2 A BEST FRIEND IS A BEST FRIEND– THEY ARE NOT A “GAY” FRIEND.

    #3 I am guessing she didn’t know “David” BEFORE he came out and went thru years with him going thru Hell over whether to or not, that were “NOT COOL”. I know, because my BEST FRIEND DID.

  54. Ruffian9 says:

    “See? Didn’t you fall in love with her a little bit?”

    Yes, Kaiser, I did.

    “I’ve often been told I’m a gay man in a woman’s body.” HA

  55. @Brit I started watching her seriously then too! She just seems like a down-to-earth person, and she’s maturing into a lovely actress.

    As for her comments, I think some of them could be misconstrued for silly when she’s really just relaxed. Any journalist can basically make an interviewee say what they want, if they’re good. AND since it’s the Advocate (which I do enjoy reading) they DID focus on her “gay” friends and culture more than they probably would have if it were another publication.

  56. Missfit says:

    I always like her before she was even “cool” or “noticed”…she was already cool in her own way. I loved her as Jackie on 70s show, she reminded me of me…such a tiny spicy little thing always bossing her boyfriends and friends around…even if she just did it with love, she just did,lol. I’d recognize her voice on Family guy too and Robot Chicken,lol. Do you remember her in Aerosmith’s video Jaded? I just hope she stays true to herself, as she gets “bigger” and more famous, I hope she doesn’t let the fame get to her head, or cocky or none of that shenanigans. As for Black Swan…I loved the film on how dark and wicked it was, I disliked the sex scene, not because it was a lesbian sex scene, I just don’t think there is a point to any sex scenes to a really good movie and then it has to be ruined by tits and ass or just sex and nudity or whatever. To the movie directors and producers…really good films can be made without anything sexual…like really! As for comment 30…gay people are not the only ones to get “depressed”…lots of people get depressed and have their down sad emo moments, it’s normal, a part of life…whoever says they don’t is full of crap. That has nothing to do with your sexuality. And I agree with comment 42…”It’s cool to be who YOU are.” 🙂 Gay or not. And we are all gay anyway, we all have our happy moments too. But I seriously think Mila meant it sincere in a positive way. But I also think that when you are bullied, gay or not…it makes you question who you are anyway…because the people who are too busy trying to be like everyone else will automatically feel threatened with anyone who is remotely different in any way. So then they obviously need a victim to pick on. Anyway…I’d prefer to stay home watching the telly and on my laptop too instead of a night out on the streets, lol.

  57. Kiki says:

    Number 46: Thank-you so much for your opinion. There aren’t many gay peope where I come from -not that we know of-. I am still learning about diversity and this idiot still has a lot to learn! Thanks!

  58. JQ says:

    Love her! I’ve been a huge fan since her days on That 70s Show. Finally, she’s getting the roles and attention she deserves. Mila is pure awesomeness!

  59. Dizzybenny says:

    shut up Meg!! 😉

  60. slymm27 says:

    oh please…all these actors actresses trying so hard to be politically correct. It is just pathetic. She sounds like a closet homophobic.

  61. rykee says:

    Closet homophobic? LOL that statement is what is pathetic.

    It was a great interview and proved yet again what a wonderful person she is. If anybody grew up in the W. Hollywood area they would completely understand the context of that statement. How this has been twisted around and misconstrued is amazing and proves what a problem we still have in this society.

    For those that are missing the point, there is still a major problem in this country where kids that are gay are being bullied and abused to the point that they have lost all hope. Mila is simply showing support and understanding and she deserves praise for it.