Sex symbol Richard Gere was one of the hottest and most famous male sex symbols in the 1980s and he was one of the few men to be credited with that monicker. However, interviewer Michael Aspel revealed in interviews over the weekend that one of the most bizarre things in his career was that Richard Gere did not like being called a sex symbol. In fact, he hated it so much that he almost sued Aspel over this.
Um...what? Richard. What? What are you talking about? How do you not totally own being called a sex symbol? Look at you:
Richard Gere was hot stuff in the 1980s due to his super sexy scenes that had women drooling in the theaters. His sex symbol status was practically revolutionary. It is rare - or at least it was at that time - for a man to own that label. So why on Earth would he be upset over something that is clearly so complimentary? Hell, not only is it complimentary - it's also true!
Richard Gere was THE go-to man for great nudity in the 80s. He proved himself to be that when he played a male gigolo in the classic film American Gigolo in which he had to go nude several times to have sex with his clients. He even showed his cock!
That was far from the only nude scene that Gere would bestow upon us. He went nude in a weird American remake of Breathless with several shots of his ass and even his cock. He showed his ass in Beyond the Limit in which he proved to us all once again that he pushes his nudity beyond the limit. He even continued to go nude as recently as 2007 with a mooning scene in The Hunting Party.
Sorry, Gere, but you are an undeniable and timeless sex symbol. Period!!! So what's the story here? Well, let's get into it.
Aspel interviewed Gere in anticipation of his role in An Officer and a Gentleman. Aspel referred to Gere as a "sex symbol" during his introduction of the megastar. Gere was allegedly so mad at this introduction - specifically the use of the words "sex symbol" - that he got his lawyers involved. An angry lawyer called Aspel afterward to ask him to take out the "sex symbol" reference.
Aspel thought it was ridiculous. I mean, it IS ridiculous. Imagine a lawyer calling you to threaten you for complimenting his client by calling him a sex symbol. Aspel added that Gere was taking himself very seriously at the time, doing charity work for people in Tibet.
It is likely he didn't want the "sex symbol" mantle because he associated it with dumber celebrities - which is very unfair on Gere's part. Plenty of sex symbols are smart, do humanitarian work, and take off their clothes. In fact, those are the best ones!
What do you think? Does this make Richard more or less sexy? Would he stand by these statements today? Let's all wait and see!
