Billy Dee Williams says he once had to turn down a romantic proposition from none other than screen legend Marlon Brando.
A legend in his own right, the star of The Empire Strikes Back and Lady Sings the Blues has a new memoir, What Have We Here?: Portraits of a Life, out this week, in which he details his adventures in Hollywood.
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“Star Wars” actor Billy Dee Williams says he isn’t gender fluid. He just uses “feminine” pronouns.
He says his comments were misinterpreted and he identifies as “a very cute man.”
“I figured maybe I need to talk about a few things that might interest a few people,” Williams recently told People.“I’ve had a lot of very interesting experiences throughout the years.”
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Apparently one of those “interesting experiences” occurred at a star-studded party at Brando’s home. In his memoir, Williams describes a moment in the A Streetcar Named Desire leading man’s library when Brando “propositioned” him.
Brando, who reportedly fathered at least eight children over the course of his life, was famous for his apparently omnivorous sexual tastes. “Like a large number of men, I, too, have had homosexual experiences, and I am not ashamed,” he famously told a journalist in 1976.
Williams, however, says he politely declined the Godfather star’s offer, telling Brando, “I’m not into guys.”
“I had no qualms with that kind of stuff,” Williams told People. “Whatever you are, that’s who you are. I’m more interested in meeting interesting people.”
“I’ve spent a lot of my life around gay people,” Williams added. “James Baldwin, who was gay, was my dearest friend.”
Williams, who once said he identifies as “a very cute man,” explained that he was used to fending off admirers. “I’ve been getting hit on all of my life,” he said. “Gay, straight, whatever, somebody’s always hitting on me.”