Arnold Schwarzenegger tells the Austrian magazine Krone when he was growing up he had so many pictures of shirtless, oiled bodybuilders on his walls his mom took him to the doctor because she feared he might be gay.
Towleroad.com offers a Google translation of the interview, in which Schwarzenegger remembers that the doctor calmed her by saying, “As an athlete he surely won't start to smoke or drink.”
He said, “As a young boy my room was plastered with photos of bodybuilders. Naked, oiled male bodies. That got my mother so concerned, she asked our family doctor one day to take a look at that. 'Other boys put images of women on their walls, and mine does this!' She actually believed I was gay.”
It's been a heavily debated topic for almost two years, but it took just a few seconds for celebrities to Tweet their cheers when Proposition 8, a ballot measure passed in November 2008 that banned same-sex marriages in California, was ruled unconstitutional Wednesday by a federal judge.
Here's what Hollywood had to say after U.S. District Chief Judge Vaughn R. Walker in San Francisco struck down Prop 8:
• Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger: "This decision affirms the full legal protections and safeguards I believe everyone deserves."
• Ellen DeGeneres: "Equality won!"
• Portia de Rossi: "I am ecstatic that proposition 8 has been overturned in the state of California. This is an incredibly exciting and historical day and a big step towards equal rights for all."
• Lance Bass: "Congrats on the overturning of Prop 8!!!!"
• Pink: "It’s a good day!"
• Ricky Martin: "YEAHHHHH!!!!! PROP8UNCONSTITUTIONAL MOVING FORWARD!!!!!!!!"
• Kelly Osbourne: "so happy over the news on prop8 its about time!"
• Kim Kardashian: "Prop 8 was struck down! This news is amazing!!!! Its about time! Congrats to everyone!"
• Shanna Moakler: "Tonight we celebrate! EQUALITY and LOVE for all! This is so much bigger then [sic] marriage, it's about wisdom, compassion and knowing we CAN be heard, action DOES make a difference!"
• Samantha Ronson: "Song Of The Day: Let's Get Married- Jagged Edge."
• Paris Hilton: "What a huge historical day for equal rights in this country! They finally overturned Prop 8! There shouldn't be a law on true love. :)"
• Sophia Bush: "A MAJOR step forward. Everyone deserves the right to love whomever they choose. I am proud to be from Cali again!"
• Rose McGowan: "Yay! No more Prop H8! I wanna be a flower girl in a wedding asap!"
• Fran Drescher: "Congrats to CA for c-ing the light & rising above prejudice. u had me worried there! When Iowa is cooler than Cali, it's time to recalibrate!"
• Milla Jovovich: "Gay Marriage law overturned in CA!!! Thank god good ppl are being treated equally again! Now we need the rest of the US to follow!"
Still, not everyone cheered the decision. Some proponents of the proposition expressed their disappointment.
"Judge Walker's ruling overturning Prop 8 is an outrageous disrespect for our Constitution and for the majority of people of the United States who believe marriage is the union of husband and wife," conservative politician Newt Gingrich said on his Web site.
The legal fight is expected to continue with an appeal by supporters of Prop 8.
Arnold Schwarzenegger, the governor of California, has signed bills to introduce Harvey Milk Day in the state and to recognize gay marriages performed in other states.
The governor had 700 bills to sign or veto by midnight on Sunday. Gay rights activists feared he would veto all in a row over water supplies for the state.
Harvey Milk Day will be a special commemorative day to encourage schools to recognise the activist's work. Nearly 40,000 California residents signed the petition for the commemorative day. It will not be an official holiday, but will encourage schools to remember Milk's actions.
The other bill allows the state to recognise marriages performed in places where gay marriage is legal.
In a signing message, Schwarzenegger said the move will "provide the same legal protections that would otherwise be available to couples that enter into civil unions or domestic partnerships out-of-state.
"In short, this measure honours the will of the people in enacting Proposition 8 while providing important protections to those unions legally entered into in other states."
The bill is an "everything but marriage" measure – meaning that gay couples who married in other states will have all the rights and benefits given to straight married couples but will not have the "designation" of marriage.
Gay marriage was legal in California until the state's voters decided against it in November 2008. Gay rights activists are gearing up to get the issue on the November 2010 ballot.
Dad-to-be (again!) Matthew McConaughey finds common ground with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger at the National Conference on Volunteering and Service Monday at San Francisco's Moscone West Convention Center, where the actor supported the Entertainment Industry Foundation and spoke out about his j.k. livin foundation.
Arnold Schwarzenegger is heading back to the big-screen. He has signed up to appear in fellow muscleman Sylvester Stallone's upcoming film "The Expendables."Schwarzenegger put his acting career on hold when he was elected Governor of California in 2003.
But he is set to make a return with a brief appearance playing himself in Stallone's star-studded movie.
The film, about a team of mercenaries heading to South America on a mission to overthrow a dictator, will also stars Ben Kingsley,Eric Roberts and Mickey Rourke.
Filming is scheduled to start shooting next month.
Maria Shriver, the wife of Governor of California Arnold Schwarzenegger, has publicly expressed her support for same-sex marriage in the state.
A ballot measure on election day, November 4th, seeks to ban gay and lesbians from getting married.
Proposition 8 has the support of church groups in California and many Republican politicians.
"I believe in people's right to choose a partner that they love, and that's a decision that I have come to, and I have felt that way for a long time," said Ms Shriver, a niece of former President John F Kennedy.
Her husband has also publicly opposed Proposition 8.
Computer giant Apple has declared Prop 8 a civil rights issue and donated $100,000 to the campaign to defeat it.
Google has also publicly backed gay marriage.
"We strongly believe that a person's fundamental rights — including the right to marry — should not be affected by their sexual orientation," Apple said in a statement.
Last week a Public Policy Institute of California found Proposition 8 losing 52% to 44% among likely voters.
4% are undecided. In polls taken in August and September by the institute found double digit leads for opponents of the measure.
Proposition 8 would amend the state Constitution to "eliminate right of same-sex couples to marry."
In May the California Supreme Court overturned a ban on same-sex marriages in the state.
The Court voted 4 to 3 to strike down the ban.
Opponents of gay marriage raised more than a million signatures to place the initiative on the November ballot.
Arnold Schwarzenegger tells the Austrian magazine Krone when he was growing up he had so many pictures of shirtless, oiled bodybuilders on his walls his mom took him to the doctor because she feared he might be gay.
