You hear Barbara's questions and they sound so archaic, so lost in time, whereas all of Harvey's answers sound so contemporary and obvious, a timeless truth.
I wonder if there’s a degree to which she asks on behalf of the average audience viewer rather than out of personal bias or curiosity, so he can correct common misconceptions. But yes, her questions are definitely evidence of a dehumanizing zeitgeist, regardless of the intention behind them.
When Fierstein inhaled deeply upon Walters’ question about what it’s like to be a homosexual, I felt what he felt. What frustrating position to be in. What patience, courage, and humility Fierstein showed. I have so much gratitude and respect for him.
@@davidj.7227 I didn’t know he was gay I real life. I knew his character was gay in Mrs Doubtfire. I have respect for him because he respects heterosexual people
I've never seen him as a young man - he's got this gorgeous, dangerous, brooding look, and then opens his mouth and is just the sweetest soul ever. How could you not love him (more) after watching this?
Back when this interview took place, I was married and passing as a straight man. I was miserable. Today, I'm living as my true self in a long term relationship (18 years) with the love of my life. Thank you Harvey for helping to pave the way!
The only victim in all this was tithe woman you were married to. You lied to a person making her believe you were someone she knew and that makes you a really bad person. I wonder what other secrets you are hiding from the one you say is the love of your life.
Oh shut the fuck up and give the man a break. It was a different time and being gay was not like how it was today. Stop trying to bully this man because he simply didn’t want to deal with any bullshit from people.
@@dirkdiggler2430 Do you have any idea how dangerous it was to be an openly gay man in the past? I’m sure OP didn’t get married with the intention of hurting his wife; he probably felt like he had no other choice, because he was living in a world where gay men were viewed as child molestors and violence against LGBT people was rampant. Maybe if less people were homophobic bigots, people like himself wouldn’t have been forced to live a lie.
I'm reading Harvey's excellent new autobiography. He says that he and Barbara were personal friends and she purposefully asked these questions as if she had never met a gay person, for the benefit of the very ignorant tv audience. Brava, Barbara Walters! ❤️
People decided to focus on Walter's "archaic" syntax. Rather than the contemporary action of having a reporter genuinely present a gay man winning in his life journey 🤷🏽
@@cesarbugarini499 let's not sit here and pretend like Barbara Walters is some LGBTQ Saint. She was ultimately an old conservative white woman, and for all the pretending we're doing here she promoted white conservative attitudes towards life every day on the TV. What this is great proof of is that these stories and people have always existed, but the work of people like Walters helped to fight against liberation.
@@riverphoenix2848 Sure, but she also described a play about a gay couple as a "wonderfully sentimental love story" in 1983 and that's progressive by the standards of the day.
@@riverphoenix2848 Pointing out something she did well for the time doesn’t mean she wasn’t flawed. Nobody is maintaining her to be some sort of LGBT savior, they’re only pointing out that this was a big deal to show on the news during the height of the aids crisis.
What an incredibly smart guy. Nowadays it's almost surreal to look back and see someone like Barbara Walters being so genuinely uninformed about gay people, and the stuff Harvey is saying seems so basic, but this was some seriously brave and progressive stuff he was doing.
I don't think she was being genuine. Barbara Walters is not an ignorant woman and even in 1983 she was very worldly. Especially someone in show business in New York City, she likely had many gay friends. She had to ask these ignorant questions for the uninformed Americans. You have to read between the lines. For example, she said, "When did you know you were gay?" not "When did you decide to be gay?" or something absurd. In 20 years, I think we will look back on 20/20s recent profiles on transgender people in the same way.
This was actually 1983, a year before HIV had even been diagnosed as the cause of AIDS and before national awareness really began. Things got very bad in the next few years.
i love how close they're sitting and never looking away from each other. it's so intimate and respectful. Walter's questions seem blunt and ignorant but the whole production is set up to give harvey the best chance to make his case to ignorant americans who think they've never met a gay person
I was going to make the same comment. They're sitting closely, they're leaning toward each other, no one's folding their arms or covering part of their face. They're both solely devoted to asking honest questions, giving honest answers, and reacting to those answers honestly. One could easily assume they grew up together.
My absolute idol. Met him outside the theatre after seeing "Hairspray" and fell even more in love ! The sweetest man ever. I gave him a fan letter...and got the nicest reply ever 2 weeks later. This man is simply amazing.
@@ericlopez9107 I think she was more so playing “devils advocate” and asking questions which seem really stupid and ignorant just so that when he answered them all the homophobes would see those questions and get an answer to them.
Wow, what a powerful message of acceptance and normality Harvey Fierstein expressed through his answers. As a 23 year old gay man I just found this video. It really touched me. Im so greatful that people like him paved the way for future generations of LGBTQ to be treated with love and acceptance. I used to be afraid in high school and a couple years after about people finding out I am gay. I now am happily open to anyone about being gay. I was at first somewhat surprised how much acceptance I recieved from others. I never have been rejected for being gay. People have made some 'rude' questions or comments but were really stemming from ignorance and not from hate or disgust. I am so happy I can say that I love being me. I love being gay.
B-Wa is playing the devil's advocate. Her questions border on insulting, but each one gives Harvey the opportunity to drop some serious truth, while still protecting her image as a "skeptical" straight reporter.
Nate Ben-Horin It was a very different time and she was presenting a insight into a world that not many people knew or were aware of. God back then people thought Liberace was heterosexual!! Things have changed enormously since that interview was broadcast. I remember the 80s and it’s hard for me to remember how closeted things were then.
Looking at this today in the year 2020, I am cringing by her questions! (I have to keep telling myself that this was 1983....) However, HIS answers are PERFECT! He even read her lightly when she said, "Just a few years ago, I couldn't have done this interview..." He didn't miss a beat and said, "YOU COULD HAVE!" He was SOOOOOO ahead of his time!!!!!!!!!
This was 40 years ago. Barbara Walters was most likely asking the questions that she was expected to ask. Harvey Fierstein gave very intelligent, compassionate answers- way ahead of the times.
His voice penetrates. It doesn’t just resonate but rather sinks into everything and you not only hear him but you definite FEEL him. He’s had a lot to fight against and still does. He doesn’t take no for an answer.
9:50 “You could’ve done it. You would’ve had to fight your senses and all that but you could’ve done it and you should’ve done it.” God that absolutely floored me, I love it
I think he said "You would've had to fight your censors...." (All those network executives who would have objected and refused to air such a segment). Either way though... Harvey is brilliantly correct and I love that he said that to her. He has lived the message "I am what I am" all these years, and he does it beautifully. I admire him so much.
He was young here but regardless his spirit is brilliant and strong, which is attractive to anyone. He knows who he is, and isn't afraid to express it.
I get goosebumps watching Harvey staring down Barbara while answering her archaic questions,,,you can tell he never takes sh-t from anyone, I love him so much!!🏳️🌈💋
I tip my hat to you Harvey and those incredibly brave men and women who came before me. You are true to yourself and your bravery inspired and gave lots of us, in the gay community, the courage to openly be ourselves. Thank you..thank you....THANK YOU.
DATED interview! DATED questions! But damn, how wonderful was this for 1983? I remember seeing this back when I was in high school and I have to say it made a difference. Thanks Harvey.
Some comments below say how outrageous these questions are. But truly there are still people around us asking the same questions, and people who aren't aware that we are just the same as them. I think the most beautiful thing about this interview and Mr. Fierstein is that he handled every question with aplomb. He treated her with respect even if the questions in today's world seem outlandish. We should all take a note from his attitude and continue to raise awareness in this amazingly kind and simple way. He is such an inspiration!
Thank you Harvey. Beautiful words......so many years ago. Barbara wasn't ready for those honest, intelligent responses. Lawd, how far we've come.........
Thank You Harvey for this courage.. You helped the world to be more open for this and made many straight people people understand, so that we, next generation have had it much easier, even though not easy... thank You ❤️
I am 13 years old and I was today years old when I first heard about this wonderful individual. I wish I would have learned about him sooner, it makes me cry to think that the world used to think this way. It hurts me to see how frustrated he is with those ridiculous questions. I already love this man to death, a true legend
Wow, that takes me back! I was just a teenager when this came out, it was the very first time in my life I realized it was OK to be who I was, but I wasn’t going to face a life of loneliness and misery.
Harvey Fierstein is my new gay hero. I just went and watch La Cage twice with ginger minj and was truly amazed and thrilled of how still timely it is. And Torch Song Trilogy, still one of my favorite movie.
Oh gosh this features a clip from the original Torch Song Trilogy play. I'm in bliss. Thank you SO MUCH. I love how calm, kind but unapologetic Harvey F. was during this interview. What a charming, brilliant guy!
It's the kind of fierce I wish I was, soft spoken and kind, but unflinching and honest and true to himself, as well as doing right by the rest of us by representing queer people so wonderfully :) He's iconic
Oh Harvey, you are so Brave. Thak you for this amazing movie Torch song trilogy. This is my favorite movie in the world. I watch it when i'm sad, and i watch when i'm happy because i wanna remember that i am a human bein and i love like everybody else. And get married and have a family. Thank you Harvey.
He has said in recent interviews that he feels strongly in letting the young people lead in terms of LGBQT+ initiatives. So many activists do not think that way, but a power struggle between old and young rarely produces anything worthwhile. And a lot of his work is available online now -- and hopefully being digitally archived.
The interview reminds me of my aunt asking questions. And just to make it funny, I used a OLD joke on her... She had asked of I "played the man" or "played the woman".... I told her, I don't play the man or the woman, I play the dog.... she dropped the phone...
So I'm impressed how well he bites his tongue throughout, but then he just goes for the throat about them never having done an interview like this before. No apology, no quarter, just "you could have done it and you should have done it." He's refusing to be let them score PR points through him and challenging them to take bigger risks. I respect that.
Wow! Never saw this interview before. Can't understand why it was never huge. It was so educational and true. Still in shock that I was born into a world so hostile and unaccepting.
He said in another interview that he had her in mind for the role; knew she could deliver the lines. She became like a mother in the cast, when the AIDS epidemic hit; full of support and compassion: even brought chicken soup, thinking it could help! (Jewish mother recipe!)
Harvey was so direct and brilliant in this interview. And, stunning face and eyes. If looks could kill, Babs would have been dead! Too bad he's getting older (like the rest of us). We could still use his wisdom today!
What an incredible authentic person It’s never about being gay or straight but always about being a human being People like him who are 1000 times authentic get written off weather your gay or straight very inspiring for all people And for people getting on Barbara Walters this is how people spoke and thought about the gay and lesbian community is it wrong yes but both did a fantastic interview
+OneUpdateataTime I actually think she's pretending to be ignorant and by the end flips it around to a pro-LGBT message. When Harvey tells her that SHE knows that there other gay people on Broadway and in films, she doesn't disagree. But yes, I wanted to scream over some of those questions.
+Chiedu Egbuniwe Barbara Walters knew some of these were ignorant questions at the time - it's the only way to approach the subject matter to get Harvey to give the "correct answers" for the whole world to see. Brilliant interview with both Barbara and Harvey.
Ok... your comment struck me as an opening to a discussion. Those of us who are older (and i will admit, i am 58) grew up when THIS was "normal". We were raised in the era and by parents/older relatives who were disgusted by homosexuality or who masked their curiosity with jokes and whispers. We, the children of that generation, were more progressive.. and though we weren't nearly as (stupidly) prejudice, it still was not the normal everyday occurrence to discuss homosexuality or to see it proudly represented. As WE became the adults, we accepted the issue as more of a possibility, but still not a regular occurrence. Some of us accepted everyone as they were and others fell back to their parents way of thinking. Though I see myself as very liberally-minded and accepting of others, my kids' generation sees me as more bottled up. Your kids or the next generation will find you and your views positively backwards compared to themselves. BUT the important point is... it's all progression in the RIGHT direction. Though it's slower moving than it should be, love is winning folks over.
That someone would have the guts to speak so openly about being gay in the early 80's like this. Bravo, Harvey. You paved the road for those of us younger than you to have a slightly easier time. A true pioneer.
I still find it remarkable that he was only 29 when this interview aired. His memoir is fantastic -- I knew very little about him other than him being part of gay Broadway and reading about the off-off-Broadway companies has been a revelation. And Estelle Getty! We wouldn't have had the Golden Girls without Harvey!
1983 was such a different time...I wish I would have been old enough to have enjoyed the work of pioneers like Harvey Fierstein. What an incredible man...glad I can enjoy him today!
My folks took me as a teen to see the original run of La Cage on Broadway. I have never (even over the last decade or so with youtube) have I ever seen this interview. What a wonderfully strong, intelligent, patient, and wise hero, Harvey was/is. I always had a deep admiration for him, but this interview blew me away at how comfortable he was at that time in his "skin" (so to speak) and how loving and eloquent his responses were. at various points, it would have been very simple to make a very catty and sarcastic response, but Harvey choose one of love and understanding. I think he also understood that he was at the very beginning of a turning point where gay acceptance over the following decade grew in such numbers that no conservative, religious, or psychological movements of stupidity could prevent the idea of a person, is a person, is a person, they just view the world thru different lenses. I think Harvey is one of the unsung or spoken-about heros in gay culture.
Before everyone rags on Barbara's ignorance remember this interview was a daring thing to air in 1983. Just talking about homosexuality on TV then was brave and progressive.
Yeah, I didn’t even know about this. I do like Harvey’s answers and Barbara giving this interview. I don’t think she’s the best journalist or interviewer over the years and sometimes asks dumb questions. But she did interview amazing interesting people who others ignored.
Funny to see all the comments by ignorant people calling Walters ignorant. Do you people not understand at all that this is not a private conversation and that it is supposed to be watched by literally ignorant general public? The questions are intended to be the kind of questions an ignorant person in 1983 would honestly ask given the chance. And an opportunity for Harvey to answer them honestly and explain these matters. And he is doing an awesome job of it. For that time and level of knowledge amongst the audience, this was in fact an excellent interview.
The parallels between this interview and present day interviews with trans people is astounding. PS: i could listen to harvey explain my own orientation to me in that husky voice for hours
I literally only knew this guy from 'Elmo saves Christmas' as a kid. Just saw him in something else and decided to look him up on youtube, I'm glad I did. I had no idea how smart of a dude he was very ahead of his time.
Great interview with Harvey. I'm glad to read in other comments that Barbara was essentially 'playing dumb' for the audience but some of those questions...sheesh! Sad thing, nearly 40 years later there's still plenty of folks that dumb.
