Actor Shemar Moore explained this week
why he feels the need to refute rumors that he's gay.
The 46-year-old actor is best known for
his roles on Criminal Minds and The Young and the Restless.
In an interview with BET to promote his
latest movie The Bounce Back, Moore said that taking a photo
with a gay man doesn't make him gay.
“I just think it’s all silly. If
you’re gay, you’re gay. I’m not, and I know that and I’m very
comfortable with who I am and I love women. I’ve dated plenty of
them. If you think I’m gay, send your girlfriend over to my house
for the weekend and see what happens. For real,” Moore
said. “You can call that arrogant if you want to. I just call
it confident. You can call me whatever you want, but you don’t know
me.”
“I have fans that are gay, men that
come up to me, and they’re inspired by me, or they like me as an
entertainer, and when they want to give me a hug or take pictures
with me, what, am I supposed to not put my arm around them or stand
next to them, and if the man next to me in the picture is gay, that
makes me gay? That’s just simpleminded ignorance, and I don’t
play that,” Moore added.
The rumors date back nearly a decade
when Moore was photographed on a gay beach in Hawaii. An Instagram
photo he posted of himself with a man on his shoulders on the streets
of Toronto fueled new rumors this year. Moore refuted the rumors in
an
Instagram video in which he said that he was “bored” with the
speculation.