One of the most heartfelt acceptance speeches on Oscar night came from Imitation Game screenwriter Graham Moore who, when accepting the award for Best Adapted Screenplay, revealed his suicide attempt at the age of 16, “because I felt weird and different.” Many assumed this to mean he identified with Imitation Game subject Turing for being gay, but not so, says Moore in a piece on Buzzfeed News:
“In this brief time here, what I want to use it to do is to say this: When I was 16 years old, I tried to kill myself because I felt weird and I felt different and I felt like I did not belong,” Moore said. “And now, I’m standing here and I would like for this moment to be for that kid out there who feels like she’s weird or she’s different or she doesn’t fit in anywhere: Yes, you do. I promise you do. You do. Stay weird, stay different. And then, when it’s your turn and you are standing on this stage, please pass the same message to the next person who comes along.”
Though many assumed that Moore was gay because of his connection to Turing, at the Governors Ball after the ceremony, he told BuzzFeed News, “I’m not gay, but I’ve never talked publicly about depression before or any of that, and that was so much of what the movie was about, and it was one of the things that drew me to Alan Turing so much. I think we all feel like weirdos for different reasons. Alan had his share of them and I had my own, and that’s what always moved me so much about his story.”
Well, gay or not, it was still a touching speech. It’s a bit of a shame he’s not gay though, I have to imagine that would make getting an Oscar from Oprah at least 75% more exciting. Assuming my gay math is correct.
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