Charlie Carver recalls being slapped across the face by fellow gay actor for being ‘too effeminate’

Charlie Carver was allegedly chastised by a fellow gay actor on multiple occasions for being ‘too effeminate,’ while attending an Emmy’s after-party in 2015.

‘I was told that I needed to “get it under control” around people in the business,’ recalled Charlie, 32, in an interview with Variety published Wednesday.

Carver claimed that the unnamed actor, who he had worked with in the past, even slapped him across the face at one point for seeking clarification on the unsolicited advice.  

Charlie explained that the physical encounter occurred as he was waiting at the party venue’s valet area.

While waiting for his car, Carver happened to bump into the unnamed actor for the umpteenth time and he asked him what he meant by getting his effeminate nature ‘under control.’ 

Instead of elaborating, the former co-worker of Carver’s slapped him across the face.

‘It wasn’t playful but intentional, pointed and meant to be instructive. A slap. I told him that if he ever touched me again, I would name him,’ Charlie recalled. 

He told Variety that the slap was a major turning point for him because it only further emboldened him to be his true self. 

‘That was the moment when I said to myself, “I can’t do this. I cannot police myself in that way.”‘

Months after the incident, Charlie used his Instagram to come out as gay.

The series of posts, uploaded in January of 2016, detailed Carver’s internal struggle with his sexuality and how finally being open and honest about who he is may help put an end to the stigma.  

‘Honesty is probably a great step in the right direction. I now believe that by omitting this part of myself from the record, I am complicit in perpetuating the suffering, fear, and shame cast upon so many in the world,’ read one portion of his post. 

Another excerpt read: ‘So now, let the record show this- I self-identify as gay. And does that really matter anymore? As a young man, I needed a young man in Hollywood to say that- and without being a d*ck about it, I owe it to myself, more than anything, to be who I needed when I was younger.’

Charlie’s candid interview with Variety was, in part, to promote the Ryan Murphy-produced film adaptation of The Boys In The Band for Netflix.

The Boys In The Band was originally an off Broadway production that premiered in 1968, but the iconic play made its Broadway debut when it was revived in 2018.

The Tony Award winning 2018 revival starred Charlie, as well as fellow openly gay actors Jim Parsons, Matt Bomer, Zachary Quinto, Andrew Rannells, Brian Hutchison, Michael Benjamin Washington, Robin de Jesús and Tuc Watkins.

The entire ensemble reunited for Murphy’s 2020 film which premiered on Netflix on Wednesday.

Carver is most famous for portraying handsome werewolf Ethan on the popular MTV series Teen Wolf alongside his twin brother Max, 32.