2023 is certainly living up to its title of being the worst year ever — whether it is in terms of canceled shows, celebrity controversies, or the semi-forgotten claims of Hugh Jackman being gay cropping up as the actor ends 27 years of his marriage to Deborra-Lee Furness.
Fridays mostly slip off into the weekend quietly, embracing its position as the slowest day of the week. But not today. Sept. 15, 2023, will go down in history as the day faith in true love took a big hit after Jackman and Deborra-Lee Furness announced their decision to go their separate ways after spending almost three decades being the epitome of relationship goals.
Throughout their marriage, the couple has spoken highly of each other, with a lion’s share of Deborra-Lee’s duties including defending her husband who had been facing claims of being a closeted gay man for years.
When and why did the rumors of Hugh Jackman being gay spark?
You know after Red, White & Royal Blue released on Prime Video recently, the most trending queries were whether its lead cast, Taylor Zakhar Perez and Nicholas Galitzine, are gay in real life as well. Yep, their on-screen chemistry felt that real. While social media is all the rage now, even back in 2003, becoming one with your character and giving an authentic performance led to some very speculations, especially when it comes to a play starring Hugh Jackman.
Though there exists no official origin story for the long-standing speculation about Jackman’s sexuality, the Logan star pinpointed its starting point during his chat with U.S. Radio (via Gay Times) in 2018. Apparently, back in 2003, the actor was part of the Broadway musical The Boy from Oz and played the part of an openly gay singer-songwriter called Peter Allen.
In one of the scenes, he shared a kiss with his co-star Jarrod Emick, a kiss that went on longer than expected because Jackman couldn’t stop laughing.
“I was literally just locking lips… I started to laugh so hard. So I stay kissing him, because I thought, ‘I’m just going to laugh. I’m going to stay here until it subsides’ and it never subsided and the whole audience could see my body shaking, so they started.”
This scene, in The Greatest Showman star’s opinion, is what kickstarted the assumptions that “he is actually gay” and “Jackman’s marriage to Deborra-Lee is a sham to hide his closeted sexuality.”
Though the actor has refrained from rising to the bait and has been cool with many not understanding that they are crossing a rather private boundary with their questions and speculations, the rumors hounding his wife have always bothered him.
During his appearance on Australia’s 60 Minutes with Deborra-Lee, Jackman addressed that he often finds the rumors frustrating, but mostly he got bothered on behalf of his wife “cause I see Deb go, ‘Ah, this is just crazy!'” She also called the comments about his alleged homosexuality “offensive.”
“If he was gay, fine, he would say he’s gay, It’s annoying because it’s not true.”
As the heartbreaking news of the couple’s divorce spreads, the not-so-dated speculation is once again rearing its head courtesy of the many who don’t understand how someone being a celebrity doesn’t instantly snatch away their right to privacy or give others the right to cook rumors about them.