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Are Jeremy Irons’ views on gay marriage evolving?
In an interview with the BBC this week, the Borgias star said he wished he’d “buttoned” his lip before making controversial statements about same-sex marriage in a separate interview earlier this month.
“I think gay marriage is wonderful. I think any reason that holds anybody together in a relationship is great. If it works as glue, if it makes you feel better, if it makes you feel you love your partner more, it’s great,” Irons told the BBC.
VIDEO: Jeremy Irons Asks if Gay Marriage Would See Fathers Marry Sons
Irons said he hadn’t really given much thought to gay marriage before making comments on the subject during the earlier interview with The Huffington Post.
That interview saw the Oscar-winning actor ask what gay marriage would mean for inheritance laws, wondering if it would allow fathers to marry sons in order to pass down one’s property without tax penalties.
“Could a father not marry his son?” Irons asked during the interview. He said this technically would not be incest if it were between men, because “incest is there to protect us from inbreeding, but men don’t breed.” He prefaced his comments by saying he had no “strong” feeling one way or the other, but continued to share his thoughts.
Q&A: Jeremy Irons is the Original Mob Boss
“It seems to me that now they’re fighting for the name,” Irons said of same-sex marriage advocates seeking marriage rights versus civil unions. “I worry that it means somehow we debase, or we change, what marriage is. I just worry about that.”
Watch Irons’ earlier interview below.
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