Norman Reedus has slammed rumours that he was unhappy that the "The Walking Dead" producers were thinking of making his character, Daryl Dixon, gay, and that he reportedly begged them not to proceed with the idea.
Fans have been dying to solve the mystery behind Daryl's sexuality, and for a while now, reports have been swirling around indicating that Reedus' character might come out as gay sometime this season.
But a new Globe story claims that Reedus did not want to go ahead with the gay storyline as he did not want to disappoint his fans.
"Insiders say he fears the same-sex shocker would hurt ratings by disappointing his legions of female fans," a source told the outlet, according to Inquisitr. "Norman isn't anti-gay in his personal life, but he's become one of the biggest male sex symbols in television. He gets thousands of fan letters from women each week – along with dozens of marriage proposals."
Reedus has since rubbished this report tweeting, "This is total bs by the way."
Meanwhile, fans of the actor appear to be divided in their opinion of whether Daryl should be portrayed as gay. A good number of fans noted that it wouldn't change the way they view the character, but not everyone agrees, and many have vowed to quit watching the show if the character turns out to be homosexual.
So how did the rumour of Daryl being gay originate? Reedus told E! Online before the season premiere of "The Walking Dead" season 5 that since there is no Daryl Dixon in "The Walking Dead" comics, fans have been associating his character to that of a man named Jesus, who is "gay and he's a total badass."
And although the chatter about about Daryl being gay is just a rumour now, he would be totally fine with the idea, added Reedus.
Here are some reasons why fans think Reedus' character could be gay:
Gay Storyline was Discussed Earlier: Comic book creator Robert Kirkman said in August that they have already discussed the possibility of making Daryl gay, and they would take up the storyline when there is a quiet period on the show.
Reedus Was Enthusiastic about Playing a Gay Character: The actor told GQ in an interview that the possibility of him being prison gay was discussed soon after season 1.
"I remember Frank Darabont, after the first season we were at a party in LA, He said, 'I've got an idea for Daryl. He's gay. Would you be interested in that?' I was like, 'Let me hear you out.' He said, 'Well, he's prison gay—like, you'll catch him looking at a member of the same sex, but if you mention it to him, he'll just stab you and be like what the fuck?—he will never admit it.' I was like, 'That'll blow minds—let's do that.'"
Lack of Female Contact: While fans expected Daryl's chemistry with both Carol and then later Beth to work magic, nothing worked out on that front, further fuelling gay rumours.
