Andy Samberg Stars on Out’s March Cover

Courtesy of OUT.com:

The comedy star explains why his performance in the upcoming movie “I Love You, Man” challenges gay stereotyping

NEW YORK (February 18, 2009) – Andy Samberg built a career out of his lauded digital shorts for “Saturday Night Live.” In a new interview with Out magazine, Samberg explains why his gay character in his new movie, which also stars Paul Rudd, breaks with convention. “No-one is going to look at my character in I Love You, Man, and say, ‘It’s funny because you’re a straight guy playing a gay guy.’ It’s funny because the character is funny.’”

Responding to recent criticism that “SNL” has resorted to gay stereotypes, Samberg claims the source of humor is not homosexuality, but in the fraught relationship straight men have with it. “It’s bro-gay,” he says, “which I just love because dudes that are bros and super anti-gay are the ones who need to get it the worst. They’re the ones we have the most fun f***ing with.”

In his editor’s letter, Out Editor-in-Chief Aaron Hicklin explains that Samberg was chosen in part for his now famous digital short for “SNL” in which he lampooned Iran’s president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, with a gay love song shortly after the president delivered a speech at Columbia University claiming there were no gays in Iran. Hicklin writes, “The execution of gays in Iran is a serious matter, of course, but as Charlie Chaplin demonstrated in ‘The Great Dictator,’ there are few more satisfying ways of disarming your enemy than by making him look ridiculous.”

On sale date: February 24, 2009

About Out
Out is the world’s leading fashion and lifestyle magazine for gay men, with a circulation of 200,000 per issue.