I Didn't Say It ....

Lee Daniels, on why he thinks his late father never truly accepted him for being gay:

"He was embarrassed, I think.  And I didn’t understand why he was so hard on me about being gay. And I didn’t realize until after I did The Butler that at that time he was a second-class citizen. And that he was called a n***** . He wasn’t a man.  And so when he saw I was gay, he thought that was even ‘Oh my God this kid, what is this kid going to encounter? It’s bad enough.' So after doing The Butler and doing so much research, I understood where his headset was at and I forgave him and I love him."

His father grew up in a time where his skin color didn’t allow him to eat at certain lunch counters, drink from certain drinking fountains, sit in certain parts of a movie theater or on a bus, so it must have been doubly hard to see your son, thinking he would have to endure those same indignities, come out as gay.

Twice the hate.

Billie Jean King, who will be one of three openly gay U.S. delegates to the Sochi Games, on what it means for openly gay athletes to represent the U.S. presidential delegation:

  

“When we step off the plane we are part of America. We are what an America looks like. So I think President Obama has done an amazing job on promoting diversity and inclusion. He has been the all-time president for doing that. And he’s showing the Russians, ‘Listen everybody belongs in the United States of America.'"

A picture says a thousand words, and just the idea that our delegation will include openly gay athletes sends a powerful message to the world.

Chris Kluwe, suggesting that evangelical Christian lightning rod Tim Tebow is being shut out of the NFL for the same reasons:

"As much as we are polar opposites on the things we stand for, Tebow is the exact same way...There are backup quarterbacks in the NFL right now that Tebow is certainly better than — he could fill a role with a team. But because he brings this other stuff with him, just like I bring my other stuff with me, teams look at it like, 'Well, we don’t want it. We don’t want players speaking out. We don’t want players doing anything other than football.'"

Shut up and play; or else you’re off the team.

I think Kluwe makes another valid point.

Terry McAuliffe, newly sworn in Governor of Virginia, signing an executive order banning discrimination of LGBT state employees as his first official act as governor:

“My administration is committed to keeping Virginia open and welcoming to all who call our Commonwealth home. Executive Order Number 1 sets the tone for an administration that will not accept discrimination in any form, and one that will work tirelessly to ensure all Virginians have equal opportunity in the workplace, no matter their backgrounds, race, religion, or whom they love.”

Maybe Virginia can turn itself around from the days of Cuccinelli.

David O. Russell, American Hustle director, on ‘poor’ Jennifer Lawrence being exhausted, suffering pneumonia and nearly missing awards season because of the hectic production schedule for The Hunger Games:

“I personally think they should give her a bit of breathing room over there because they’re printing money. But she’s a very alive person. … I’ll tell you what it is about that girl — talk about 12 years of slavery, that’s what the franchise is. And I’m going to get in so much trouble for saying that.”

If you knew you’d get in trouble for saying it, why continue speaking?

To compare a professional, highly-paid multi-millionaire actress, who lives the life of a globe-trotting, designer dud wearing, award-winning superstar to that of a person bought and sold and forced to work, and tortured and raped and murdered is the height of stupidity.

Shame on you David O. Russell.

Sean Penn, speaking about the 65 guns he owns at his relief benefit for Haiti:

"Being provoked by this aforementioned strong woman and considering how liberating of bullshit and ugliness it would be not only get rid of the guns I have in the continental United States but also to destroy them, Jeff Koons and I had a chat the other day. The highest bidder gets every single one of my guns put in the hands of this iconic artist and sculptor. Koons will decommission [and] render inactive all of my cowardly killing machines."

Minds can be changed, even Sean Penn’s. And the ‘strong woman’ is said to be Penn’s new girlfriend, Charlize Theron, whose mother shot and killed Theron’s father after enduring years of physical abuse.

PS The winning bidder for not-yet created piece by Koons was Anderson Cooper, who topped Piers Morgan with a $1.4M bid for the charity.