Ben Hopkins Quotes

I think the earnestness of what we're saying and what other bands like us are totally saying - or other queer bands - is 'We exist.'

We must be vigilant in sharing our stories and our truths as queer parents of color at every chance we get if we hope to see art imitate real life.

As an actor, it was important to me to play gay characters because, growing up, it was something I never really saw done on television and in film, and I was questioning why there weren't more people like me.

After the 'Fallon' set, I had a lot of queer people message me about how much it meant to see a queer perspective on late night TV.

My brownness is something that I can't hide. There are some straight-acting or straight-passing queer people out there, but I'm not one of them. This is something I would rather not have to hide.

A lot of artists I like end up being queer. Or maybe it's a subconscious thing that you can identify of, like, 'Oh this person understands the nuances of the romantic narrative of a queer person, or the social narrative of a queer person.' And then you discover, lo and behold that they are a queer person.

You know, in this industry, being an openly queer actor or entertainer, you can play the game your way, or you can play it the industry's way. And I decided to play it my way. I played it the industry's way far too long.

When I was in high school, there weren't a lot of out gay actors playing gay roles. I didn't see myself represented truthfully in the media.

It's important to tell queer stories and to show queer relationships in a very normal setting.

The stories I grew up with, whether it came to queer representation or representation of anyone that was different, it was always a story of, like, very sad, usually ended up with somebody dying, and it made the idea of being queer or different really scary, actually.

We need a lot more visibility of queer people in public life. People gotta get used to it.

I feel like Hollywood likes to use gay people to tell either really sad gay stories starring straight actors, or everything's about a struggle. Everything's about coming out. Nothing was about just living and breathing as a human being who happens to be gay.

I feel like I've been observed as an individual more than a gay person, or as a filmmaker with a certain point of view rather than a lesbian filmmaker with a gay point of view.

I didn't want to be known as a gay comic, but as a comic who happens to be gay.

The mainstream needs Ellen DeGeneres and Rosie O'Donnell. The mainstream needs RuPaul.

For me, every music video is a hurdle. Every time I do a music video, I'm constantly fighting to get my point across. As a gay woman, that's also a big hurdle.

It's daunting, taking on the task of representing the gay community, because there are so many different facets and different schools of thought and behavior.

What I would love is for a normalization of queer characters on TV.

I read everything and anything related to being queer. I found solace in reading authors like Audre Lorde and bell hooks, who would become my activist staples - their words helped me grow up and taught me how to be bold and courageous. By studying them, I came to understand that being young and queer and black would not be easy.

I grew up in a time where there were no queer digital references.

I hadn't seen any people like me on TV before, and I definitely didn't want to be the first one. I didn't want that responsibility on my head.

Shows like 'Empire'... one of the most profound powerful things is that there's a gay male character who is loved. That character is going to save a lot of people's lives. Black families are confronting the idea that a gay black character can be human.

People look to me for guidance or responsibility. People put a lot of stuff on me as a symbol of something, which is nothing I opted into, but it's a responsibility I take seriously regardless.

People often ask me why I choose to primarily play queer characters, and my answer is that as a queer man, I choose to align myself with projects in which I can be of service for a purpose greater than myself: to be for an audience of queer people of color, something I didn't have the privilege of seeing as a young man.

What we do is provide a suggestion. We say, 'We're queer. We're going to do this; we're going to open up the space to queer thought.' People don't have to show up, but they do.