Hollywood actress Camryn Manheim is facing online backlash after joking at an LGBT advocacy event that she had always wanted her son to be gay.
Manheim made the remarks Sunday while speaking at the Human Rights Campaign’s National Dinner.
The actress was introducing her longtime friend Marcia Gay Harden, who was receiving the organization’s Ally for Equality Award.
Manheim told the audience that Harden’s connection to LGBTQ+ issues was personal because all three of Harden’s children identify within the LGBTQ+ community.
She then turned the speech toward her own family.
“That’s another thing that deeply irritates me about her, because I always wanted a gay son,” Manheim joked.
Manheim said she admired what she described as the relationship between gay sons and their mothers.
“I love that relationship between gay sons and their mothers,” she said.
The actress continued by saying she had imagined herself as the kind of mother who would loudly defend a gay child.
“I wanted to be the picket sign-holding mom who would beat the s— out of somebody for her kid,” Manheim said.
She then told the audience, “Gay sons are the best, right?”
Manheim went on to describe several things about her son, actor Milo Manheim, that she said had led her to believe he might be gay.
She said she had photographs of him wearing high heels and appearing in drag.
She also noted his love of musical theater and joked that she thought she “had this f—ing thing locked up.”
Instead, she said, Milo turned out to be heterosexual.
“He’s the only straight guy in his entire musical theater company,” Manheim said, as Fox News reported.
Milo Manheim, 25, is an actor best known for starring as Zed in Disney Channel’s “Zombies” franchise.
He also played Joseph in the 2023 musical film “Journey to Bethlehem.”
In 2018, he finished second on Season 27 of “Dancing with the Stars.”
Camryn Manheim also shared a story involving Harden and one of Harden’s children.
According to Manheim, Harden called her roughly a decade ago and told her that her son was gay.
Manheim said her immediate response was enthusiastic.
“Oh my God, you are so f—ing lucky!” she recalled telling Harden.
She then described visiting Harden’s home about a week later when a package arrived containing thigh-high patent leather boots.
Manheim joked that she felt Harden was “just showing off.”
The remarks drew applause from portions of the audience at the Human Rights Campaign event.
The organization describes itself as the country’s largest LGBTQ+ civil rights organization and says it works to mobilize voters, support candidates and advocate for policies related to equality.
Its annual dinner program includes fundraising events held across the country.
Outside the event, however, Manheim’s comments quickly sparked criticism online.
Some commentators accused the actress of treating her son’s sexuality as something she wanted to control or celebrate for her own reasons.
Others took issue with the way she described being disappointed that her son is straight.
Several conservative commentators reacted harshly to the speech.
One argued that the remarks reflected unhealthy expectations being placed on children.
Others described Manheim’s comments as disturbing or inappropriate.
The criticism intensified as clips of her remarks circulated on social media.
Some users focused specifically on her comment that she had “wanted a gay son.”
Others objected to her joking about photographs of her son in high heels and drag as evidence that she had expected him to be gay.
There is no indication from the source that Milo Manheim publicly objected to his mother’s remarks.
The backlash instead came primarily from outside commentators reacting to the speech online.
Fox News Digital said it contacted both the Human Rights Campaign and representatives for Manheim for comment.
Neither had responded by the time of publication.
Manheim’s remarks were delivered in a joking tone during an event honoring LGBTQ+ advocacy.
But the speech quickly became a flashpoint online, with critics arguing that joking about wanting a child to have a particular sexual orientation crossed a line.
