Oscar-winning actor Al Pacino donated his earnings from the 1980 film Cruising to charity after coming to understand that the film was “exploitative” of the queer community.
Cruising, loosely based on a novel by Gerald Walker, features Pacino as a police officer who goes undercover to catch a serial killer preying on gay men in New York City.
In his newly released memoir, Sonny Boy, Pacino reflects on the controversy surrounding the film during production. He noted that the film faced near-daily protests from people concerned about its negative portrayal of the LGBTQ+ community.
The film depicts gay men as leading double lives, often “cruising” for anonymous encounters in public areas and seedy locations. Pacino revealed that he only realised the exploitative nature of the project after filming had concluded.
Instead of promoting the movie after its release, Pacino chose to remain silent and donated the money he earned from it to charity. “I took the money, and it was a lot, and I put it in an irrevocable trust fund,” he shared. “I gave it to charities, and, with the interest, it was able to last a couple of decades. I don’t know if it eased my conscience, but at least the money did some good.”
He explained that he made the donations anonymously, not wanting to appear to be trying to capitalise on the situation. “I just wanted one positive thing to come out of that whole experience,” he added.
Pacino did not disclose the specific charities that benefitted from his donation.
Director William Friedkin acknowledged in a 2013 interview with The Wrap that Cruising was not ideal for the gay rights movement. However, he maintained that it was never intended to critique the LGBTQ+ community. “I thought the S&M world would be an interesting backdrop for a murder mystery. I didn’t mean for it to represent the gay lifestyle,” Friedkin explained. He also recognised that LGBTQ+ advocates seeking equal rights would likely not appreciate such a “tough” and “ambiguous” film.
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