Is Anthony Edwards Homophobic?

Credit: @theanthonyedwards_

Is Anthony Edwards homophobic? It depends on which Anthony Edwards you are asking about, as there are two Anthony Edwards living very public lives in America. The first is the talented actor named Anthony Edwards. You know him as the beloved and lovable Goose from the hit movie Top Gun, produced in 1986. He starred as a Navy pilot who took the backseat spot in Tom Cruise’s plane before his death. He left behind his wife and young son, and his son decides to follow in his father’s footsteps more than 30 years later in Top Gun: Maverick.

There is also Anthony Edwards, who plays professional basketball for the Minnesota Timberwolves. He’s often referred to as Ant-Man, and he wasn’t even alive when Anthony Edwards starred in the original Top Gun. In fact, he wasn’t born until 2001. He’s only 21. He played college basketball during the 2019-2020 season for the University of Georgia Bulldogs. He decided to enter the NBA draft in 2020, where he was the first overall pick in round one. He’s been playing basketball for the Minnesota Timberwolves ever since.

Now, Anthony Edwards is being accused of being homophobic, but which one? Is either Anthony Edwards homophobic? And which one is being accused of this?

Anthony Edwards, the Actor, Spoke Out About Being Sexually Molested By Another Man

Anthony Edwards, the actor, is not a gay man. He was married to his first wife, Jeanine Lobell, for 21 years. The couple got married in 1994, and they divorced in 2015. During their rather long marriage, they welcomed four children. They are the very proud parents of three daughters and one son. Anthony Edwards, the actor, got married a second time in 2021 to actress Mare Winningham. They were longtime friends before they chose to elope, and now they are husband and wife.

Credit: Top Gun

In 2017, Anthony Edwards (the actor) opened up about his difficult childhood. He was a talented actor who starred in plays that were directed by the producer known as Gary Goddard. From the time he was 12, Edwards admitted that Gary Goddard would sneak into his bed at night – and the beds of some of the male friends he acted with – and sexually abuse them. This was not the first time Goddard was accused of sexually assaulting a little boy. He was accused of sexually assaulting Michael Egan III back in 2014, and a fashion designer accused him of sexual assault from a 1999 incident in his own home. Another man by the name of Bret Nighman wrote an essay telling the world that Anthony Edwards was telling the truth.

In his essay, he wrote that Goddard attempted to assault him in his bed sexually, but he fought him off before watching him get into Edwards’ bed and rape him. The essay is linked for you, but I must warn you that it is a very difficult read. This Anthony Edwards is neither homophobic nor anti-gay despite what he went through.

Anthony Edwards, the NBA Player, is Being Accused of Being Homophobic

Credit: @theanthonyedwards_

It turns out that the basketball-playing Anthony Edwards is being accused of homophobic behavior. He was fined by the NBA in 2022 after he posted a video online. The video includes a group of men without shirts on, and he calls them queer. The NBA fined him $40,000. He removed the post and issued an apology within 24 hours of posting it. “What I said was immature, hurtful, and disrespectful, and I’m incredibly sorry,” was the statement he made. Despite his quick apology, it seems that the LGBTQ community is unhappy with his words.

Anthony Edwards is being blasted on the internet, and his apology seems to have done nothing in terms of calming anyone down. It seems that his posted video and comment were enough, and his apology did not come across too many as sincere or thoughtful. His reputation is currently hurting, and his fans are dwindling. However, the basketball player is trying. “I’m willing to do whatever it takes to make it right, show everybody that I come with respect. That’s not who I am. I’m willing to take it as far as I need to. It just makes me think before I do anything now. I learned that you have to think before you speak and gotta be better,” he said.

He’s done it all right so far. Edwards apologized, and he issued a statement discussing what he learned from his mistake. He didn’t attempt to deny anything or place any blame on anyone else. He owned it, and he is working to make it right. The only thing he has to do now is to prove via his actions that he learned his lesson, and that’s how you know whether he meant what he said. Everyone deserves a second chance to prove that they are sorry for their mistakes and hurtful words. It’s when they don’t live up to that second chance that the world gets to change their mind about him.