Sylvester Stallone has boosted the action genre on a tremendous scale. From making his name with the Rocky and Rambo film series, he kickstarted a new franchise, The Expendables in 2010, featuring top action stars in Hollywood. The series stars an ensemble cast that includes the likes of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jean-Claude Van Damme.
Given that the actors are always in the spotlight, they have to be very specific with what they say and act in public especially when it comes to sharing public opinions. Their remarks could end up hurting the sentiments of a community which is what happened when Van Damme made public remarks on same-s*x marriage.
Sylvester Stallone’s Expendables Co-Star Shared His Views on Same-S*x Marriage
During a 2018 appearance on the French talk show, On n’est pas couché, Jean-Claude Van Damme clashed with former French Minister of Gender Equality, Marlene Schiappa who held the title until 2020. In one segment, the duo began to disagree with each other’s remarks about gender roles and marriage. Having said that he was raised with “traditional values,” he believed that man is responsible for feeding his family. Meanwhile, a woman should take care of the family.
“There are women who like to work, like you, and who can do both things, take care of children and work,” Van Damme said. “There are women who like to stay at home; they want to stay at home, they like children. If all women are working, what are they doing at home?”
His statement led the latter to ask him how his theory would work in the case of same-s*x marriage. She asked,
“According to your theory, if a man marries another man or a woman marries a woman – how does that work?”
In his response, he compared homosexuals to dogs stating,
“Men marry other men? Men get married, women get married, dogs get married… Everybody is getting married and everybody is getting divorced.”
Schiappa was quick to point out his statement and even accused him of mansplaining at one instance, which she explained to the audience, what it exactly is.
Jean-Claude Van Damme Faced Backlash for His Comments
On noticing that the audience was laughing at his comments, the former French Minister for Gender Equality quickly set the record straight by mentioning,
“I’m sorry, but this is not funny. This is the day of the Pride parade where people march to defend their rights. I find this shocking. There are people who are beaten and insulted because they are homosexual. We need to support them rather than mocking them, saying they are dogs.”
The Bloodsport actor was quick to defend himself by sharing,
“I have a lot of friends who are gay. If they want to get married, that’s OK.”
However, he hit back by joking,
“But the question is, if all the boys marry each another and all the women marry each other, how are we going to have children?”
He was later on, criticized by viewers as a media outlet, LCI reported that France’s broadcasting standards organization, the Conseil Supérieur de l’Audiovisuel, received over 20 complaints of that show, clearly due to his insensitive remarks.
Source: On n’est pas couché
