Tom Hardy blasts ‘rude’ reporter who questioned his sexuality as he insists he has ‘no obligation’ to discuss his private life

Hitting back: Tom Hardy has dubbed a reporter 'rude'
Anne-Christine Poujoulat/AFP/Getty
Jennifer Ruby18 September 2015
The Weekender

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Tom Hardy has dubbed a reporter ‘rude’ following an awkward press conference earlier this week.

The Legend star, who bristled as a journalist questioned his sexual orientation in front of a room full of people, has said that he has ‘no obligation’ to discuss the matter.

Speaking about incident to the Daily Beast, Hardy said: “I do think that there’s a responsibility for people to own the way that they speak publicly.

“This doesn’t stop us from being human beings; some things are private. I’m under no obligation to share anything to do with my family, my children, my sexuality—that’s nobody’s business but my own."

[Skip to 28.07 in the above video to watch Hardy speak about the reporter ]

“And I don’t see how that can have anything to do with what I do as an actor, and it’s my own business. If you knew me as a friend, then sure, we’d talk about anything. “

The A-lister went on to say that, while he’s all for discussing LGBT issues, he thought that the question was designed to ‘provoke’ a reaction.

He said: “But that was a public forum, and for someone to inelegantly ask a question that seemed designed entirely to provoke a reaction, and start a topic of debate… It’s important destigmatizing sexuality and gender inequality in the workplace, but to put a man on the spot in a room full of people designed purely for a salacious reaction? To be quite frank, it’s rude.”

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Hardy continued: “What he had to talk about was actually interesting, but how he did it was so inelegant. And I appreciate that I could probably have more grace as a human being, but I’m just a bloke.

“I’m just a man. And I’m just a man doing a job. I’m not a role model for anyone, and you’re asking me something about my private life in a room full of people.”

The Bronson actor shut down the reporter during the Legend press conference at the Toronto Film Festival when he suggested that his sexuality was ‘ambiguous’.

Graeme Coleman, who works for LGBT site Daily Xtra asked the actor: “In the film, your character Ronnie is very open about his sexuality.

“But given interviews you’ve done in the past, your own sexuality seems a bit more ambiguous. Do you find it hard for celebrities to talk to media about their sexuality?”

Seeming completely confused by the situation, Hardy responded: “What on earth are you on about?”

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