LGBT

xchrom

(108,903 posts) Tue Jan 3, 2012, 11:56 AM Jan 2012

What It’s Like Telling Gay Jokes in Tennessee

http://www.advocate.com/Arts_and_Entertainment/Comedy/What_Its_Like_Telling_Gay_Jokes_in_Tennessee/

A lot has changed for Peter Depp. Once a married father of three children living in Tennessee, Depp has transitioned to life as an aggressively open stand-up comedian and reality show star. Depp is featured in Girls Who Like Boys Who Like Boys on Fridays on the Sundance Channel. And he appears this week at Homo Comicus, an all-gay comedy show at Gotham Comedy Club in New York City.

*** snip

The Advocate: You went from being a married father of three children in the middle of the Bible Belt to an aggressive gay comedian. What was that transition like?

Peter Depp: Coming out of the closet was the hardest thing in the world, and I’ve had open heart surgery. I was just so afraid. I wanted to live this picture perfect American life with a wife, three kids, and a white picket fence. It makes me feel good that my ex-wife supports me and stands by my side. We got together young. I was 17, she was 16. We got pregnant at 18. She knew we were together too young and was really understanding. I was so in denial. I couldn’t say that I was gay. She was the one who pushed me out and said, “this is who you are.”

Are you friends?

We’re best friends. We had Christmas at her house with the kids. She cooked for all of us. She’s the greatest person in the world. We’re at the point where we can talk about our dating lives now.

As strange as it sounds, your storyline on the show seems the most normal compared to others.
I tried so hard to be the crazy one, but it’s a lot of work!

You didn’t get to be the Snooki.

I wanted to be trashy and crazy. I don’t do drugs, so it’s hard to act that way. I feel like they really portrayed me as who I am, unfortunately. I wish they had done a better job to make me look insane.