Jean-Claude Van Damme, renowned for his roles in action films like Street Fighter and The Expendables 2, is facing criticism for comments he made about same-s** marriage on a French talk show.
During his appearance on On n’est pas couché last Saturday evening (June 30), the actor clashed with Marlène Schiappa, the French Minister for Gender Equality, several times.
In one instance, Schiappa accused Van Damme of “mansplaining.”
Their disagreement escalated when Schiappa questioned Van Damme’s views on same-s** couples.
[via Pink News]
In response to Schiappa’s question about how same-s** marriages work according to his theory, Van Damme retorted, “Men marry other men?
Men get married, women get married, dogs get married… Everybody is getting married and everybody is getting divorced.”
Schiappa, noticing that the audience had laughed at Van Damme’s remarks, expressed her disapproval: “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.”
Attempting to justify himself, Van Damme stated, “I have a lot of friends who are gay.
If they want to get married, that’s OK.
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 said jokingly.
Following the episode, France’s broadcasting standards organization, the Conseil Supérieur de l’Audiovisuel, received over 20 complaints from viewers about Van Damme’s appearance on On n’est pas couché, according to French media outlet LCI.
