Hollywood actor Robert Downey Jr’s comments that his character in the latest movie Sherlock Holmes, could be shown as a gay, and involved with sidekick Dr. Watson, in the movie’s sequel has caused a controversy.
Andrea Plunket, who controls the US copyrights to the Holmes stories on behalf of the character’s creator Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, has threatened to withdraw permission for a follow-up if the film’s director Guy Ritchie suggests any kind of homosexual angle to the super slueth’s character.
Downey Jr, during an appearance on a US talk show by David Letterman, asked the audience to decide whether Holmes is “a very butch homosexual”.
Plunket, meanwhile, isn’t amused. “I hope this is just an example of Mr Downey’s black sense of humour. I would withdraw permission for more films to be made if they feel that is a theme they wish to bring out in the future. I am not hostile to homosexuals, but I am to anyone who is not true to the spirit of the books,” she said.