In an interview with LGBT blog Unicorn
Booty, Lebanese-American actor Haaz Sleiman explains why he recently
came out as a “total bottom.”
The 41-year-old Sleiman is best known
for playing the role of Jesus in the American television mini-series
Killing Jesus, which was inspired by the 2013 book of the same
title by former Fox News host Bill O'Reilly. Sleiman has also
appeared on CBS' The Good Wife and Showtime's Nurse Jackie.
Last week, Sleiman came out not only as
gay but also as a “total bottom.”
“Not just globally but within the
community, bottoms are looked down upon,” he
explained. “They are considered less than. There are so many
bottoms, and it’s so disrespectful how they are treated. My
reasoning is to say to the world, ‘Just because I’m a bottom
doesn’t mean you can fuck with me.’ Bottom shaming is no
different than sexism. We don’t take bottoms as seriously. We say,
‘Tops are better.’ And then we eyeroll when we hear that someone
is a bottom. We hear that men are more worthy than women, and men are
the center of the world. It is the same when it comes to the dynamic
between bottoms and tops. It is OK if he is fucking another man but
it’s not if he is being fucked by another man.”
Sleiman said that he knew he was gay at
age 7.
“I'm a Lebanese Muslim, growing up in
an Arab country. It was not easy for me. I had a very tough
childhood,” he said.
He also added that he “hooked up” a
few times with CNN anchor Anderson Cooper. “Let's just say I was
not for him, he was not for me,” Sleiman said.