Edgar Ramirez: The theme of the Assassination of Gianni Versace is homophobia
I don’t have cable anymore, so I’m still waiting to watch the premiere of American Crime Story: The Assassination of Gianni Versace. The highly anticipated series from Ryan Murphy has received positive reviews.
USA Today says that the series is “grounded by sublime performances from its cast” and concludes, “What it does well, it does extremely well, and its mix of beauty and horror will stick with you long after its episodes conclude.” The show’s message was not overlooked, with PEOPLE pointing out that “Assassination operates like an enormous tuning fork that vibrates in response to the waves of tension that undermined gay existence across America in the 1990s.”
The Los Angeles Times, comparing Versace to the last season of ACS, The People v. O. J. Simpson, noted that “Versace’s demise didn’t hit the same personal or political nerve with the American public or the media, largely because Cunanan was a male escort and the majority of his victims were gay.” The review pointed out that while the murder case was fodder for the tabloids, “even as a victim Versace didn’t elicit the same kind of love as accused murderer Simpson. And here that disparity is painfully present across all nine episodes.”
This disparity has been a priority for show creator Ryan Murphy, who told Entertainment Weekly back in June that ”The more I had read about it the more I was startled by the fact that [Versace killer Andrew Cunanan] really was only allowed to get away with it because of homophobia.” He echoed the sentiment of the latest reviews by adding “There was this great apathy about it and nobody cared and I think part of that was because it seemed like gay people were disposable in our culture.”
Edgar Ramirez, who plays the late designer, shared Ryan’s sentiments on Wednesday night’s episode of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. He said that American Crime Story: The Assassination of Gianni Versace (which he joked was the “longest title on television”) takes on homophobia the same way the previous season of ACS took on issues of race. He noted that “Ryan has an amazing talent to identify stories that are both dramatically gripping and at the same time they’re socially and culturally relevant. It’s that combination that makes the anthology of American Crime Story so interesting.”
He went on to say that, “The underlying theme of our show is homophobia,” explaining that, “We tend to think that in the ’90s the world was just like the world today and actually it was very different.” He notes that the investigation into the murder incorporated the “don’t ask, don’t tell” initiative, stating “This kind of invisibility and this denial of sexuality, denial of existence of a gay world out there.”
As for killer Andrew Cunanan, Edgar said that despite the fact that his face was on national news as well as the FBI’s most wanted list, he proved difficult to apprehend, because “Basically, he was killing gay men and didn’t represent a public threat to the authorities at the time.” The case is still significant, as he reminds us, “To think that it was only 20 years ago is shocking and frightening because history tends to repeat itself. It’s important to revisit. ” He added that “we couldn’t be more proud to revisit history in this way.”
During the interview, Jimmy made note of the uncanny resemblance between Edgar and Versace. Edgar admitted, “Now I realize that my dad looks exactly like him and I look exactly like my dad. It’s eerie.”
He also talked about filming in the Versace mansion in Miami, which he described as “very emotional.” He imagined that Versace could hear the “chaos and pain” going on around him around him as he lay dying on the steps of the home, and admitted, “That haunted me for a while,” adding, “but at the same time it was beautiful to be at the house, a house that represents his legacy.”
Besides Jimmy fawning over Edgar (but I guess you can’t blame him, I would probably do the same thing in his situation), the interview is worth a peek. If you love a great Spanish accent like I do, you’ll really enjoy it. I could listen to this man read the phone book. Sigh.
Photos: Getty Images, Instagram, WENN.com
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