Thomas Dekker Is Not Gay

Thomas Dekker -- the actor who played the de-gayed character of Zach on the hit show -- speaks out on his Myspace page regarding the whole mess (which AfterElton broke in December). Dekker notes that blaming him or his management for the whole ordeal is ridiculous, as he has played gay three times already (which is basically a "get out of gay free" card, apparently):

I am truly sorry for what transpired on the series and who it has effected. I have been shown a lot of, to be blunt, hate mail directed at me and my manager for the way the character of Zach played out. I would like it to be known by everyone, that I have played a gay character three times before in my career, one when I was twelve (which is on youtube), one when I was fifteen, and another when I was seventeen. I, nor my management have ever had any kind of problem with creating a gay character. To me acting is about being prepared to play all kinds of roles and it is an honor and a challenge to portray ANYTHING that comes my way. What transpired on heroes is something far more complicated than anyone being "afraid" to make Zach homosexual. The character that I created in the beginning of the show, a process I take very seriously, was based on Zach being an outcast who had a burning love for Claire, a crush that drew him to her and effected every ounce of his self esteem around her. I created the character that way because it was WRITTEN IN THE ORIGINAL SCRIPT that he was in love with Claire.

Well that makes things clear, right? Er ... or not. Actually, it stands in direct opposition to statements made by the show's creator (and recently, writer) -- including statements made before the show even aired. And why would it make sense for the show to create a straight character and then "gay him up" midway through the story? And weren't references made as early as the first episode that the kid was gay?

We contacted Dekker's management last week to try to get a comment not distributed through a site held up entirely by stripper photos, homemade videos and emoticons, but we got nothing but static in return. For the entire missive, head on over to the hallowed halls of Hollywood gossip mothership Defamer (and thanks to Big Bear for the tip).
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No Gay Guys In "Heroes"

Despite our own reports that Zach, the indestructible cheerleader’s best pal on NBC’s Heroes, would be gay (we talked to Heroes creator and exec producer Tim Kring and out supervising producer-writer Bryan Fuller for a cover story in August), it seems that either actor hysteria or studio phobia has gotten the better of good writing and character development. Earlier this year Kring told Out that Zach would be gay—but he admitted he hadn’t yet told actor Thomas Dekker, who plays Zach. Kring and Fuller also told us that studio execs are still afraid of characters perceived to be gay, but nevertheless Kring said he was undaunted by NBC’s pressure to make all the characters straight. Months later we heard rumors that either Dekker or his management was not happy about the idea of Dekker playing a gay character and was protesting. Despite Zach’s taunting on the show by bitchy cheerleaders for being a “gay boy,” an AfterElton.com article says that, “According to the NBC publicity department and [Dekker’s management], the character of Zach is absolutely, positively straight.” Check out the article for all the “He’s gay. Oops, now he’s not” details and analysis. Saving the world does not, apparently, involve conquering homophobia.

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