Rightwing pundit who called for eradicating “transgenderism” played a gay twink in a movie

Michael Knowles, the far-right Daily Wire host who recently called for eradicating “transgenderism,” played a gay character in a student film.

On Thursday, Twitter user @RightWingCope posted a clip from the low-budget short. “The current headliner of conservative homophobia and transphobia played a gay twink,” they wrote. “So much for restoring ‘traditional masculinity.’”

Related:

Conservative pundit claims demons are “always trans”

Daily Wire host Michael Knowles says “The Devil hates humanity” and so all demons “cut away at the very core of humanity” by being trans… or something.

In the scene, Knowles’s character and another man are shirtless in bed, having apparently just had sex. “That was…wow,” Knowles’s character says.

Before becoming a right-wing pundit and anti-trans lightning rod, Knowles was a struggling actor, appearing in short films and television shows. According to IMDB, he even landed an uncredited role in an episode of the acclaimed Steven Soderbergh-directed series The Knick. But if you scroll down far enough on Knowles’s IMDB page, you’ll find a credit for a 2012 short film called The House of Shades.

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The full student film, which appears to date back to Knowles’ time at Yale University, is available on YouTube, and it didn’t take long for Twitter users to unearth it. YouTuber Jackson Wagon also recently included the film a video in which he critiqued all of Knowles’s acting performances.

According to the film’s description, The House of Shades “revolves around the interconnected relationships of a group of college students and the student-ran nightclub/cabaret they call home.” On both YouTube and IMDB, Knowles gets top billing in the film.

In the film, Knowles plays a queer student named Gavin who, having just broken up with his girlfriend, sets his sights on a male athlete. After a night out, the two end up sleeping together.

The clip surfaced a little over a week after Knowles made headlines for a virulently anti-trans speech he made at this year’s Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC). In his speech, Knowles claimed that “For the good of society, and especially for the good of the poor people who have fallen prey to this confusion, transgenderism must be eradicated from public life entirely — the whole preposterous ideology, at every level.”

Critics quickly accused Knowles of advocating for genocide. In response, Knowles attempted to walk back his statement, claiming he was calling for the eradication of an ideology rather than people. Being transgender is an identity, not an ideology.

Since the House of Shades clip surfaced on Twitter, users have lambasted Knowles as yet another anti-LGBTQ+ figure with some inconveniently queer skeletons in his closet.