The depiction of Ron Woodroof in the
Oscar-nominated film Dallas Buyers Club as a bigot who
overcame his own homophobia is being challenged.
The movie also characterized Woodroof,
who is played by Matthew McConaughey in the film, as straight. But
several sources who knew Woodroof – he succumbed to an AIDS-related
illness in 1992 – have questioned the film's assertions.
“I never witnessed any homophobia in
the time I knew him from 1988 through his death in 1992,” Dr.
Steven Pounders, who was Woodroof's primary care physician, told
Slate.com's
Forrest Wickman.
“Brenda, his ex-wife, stated that he
was bisexual,” he added.
Bill Minutaglio, who interviewed
Woodroof for a Dallas Life profile, echoed the sentiment: “He
was not homophobic. Far from it.”
Minutaglio added that he did not know
whether Woodroof was gay or bisexual, “but he clearly had many
friends and supporters in the gay community.”
Penny Kripin, a close friend and
Woodroof's nurse, told the Sunday Times that Woodroof was gay.
“Ron was one of my gay patients,”
Krispin said. “I never knew anyone who thought Ron was straight.”