7 Famous Characters You Should Avoid Dressing as at a Gay Costume Part

Article written by Maya Vukovska

Famous people have always been great costume inspiration. But when it comes to attending a gay costume party, there are certain celebrities who are fair game for criticism because of their homophobic faux pas.

Paris Hilton

I have a friend who used to be a crazy fan of Paris Hilton back in the early 2000s when she was at the peak of her “famous for being famous” career. He’d often go to costume parties dressed like her - with а long blond wig, low-cut jeans, a pink top reading “Stop Being Poor,” and a teacup dog tucked in a purse. Fifteen years later, dressing like this infamous socialite doesn’t sound like a good idea anymore. I mean, not after the gaffe she made in 2012 blurting out that gay men are “the horniest people in the world,” and that “they are disgusting, and most of them probably have AIDS.”

Homer Simpson

Yes, we all like the patriarch of probably the most famous cartoon family in the world. Plus, his appearance is easy to imitate - you just put on a vinyl bald cap, glue a fringe of hair to the back and sides of your head, grab a white t-shirt with short sleeves and open collar, blue pants, and grey shoes, and your costume is pretty much ready. However, Homer has not always been a likeable nice guy. In S8 E15, Homer discovers that the new family friend John is gay, and freaks out. He is afraid that John will have a bad influence on his son Bart, so he dissociates himself from John and takes the kid hunting as a precautious measure against him turning homosexual.

The Pope

Not the current one, of course, because he has been hailed in the gay community for his unprecedented positive attitude towards homosexuality and same-sex civil unions. The thing is that if you dress as Pope Francis, there’s a big chance to be mistaken for some of his predecessors because, you know, all of them were old, and wearing a white robe and a white headpiece. And you definitely do not want to be mistaken for one particular pope - Benedict XVI. While he was still Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger in 1986, he wrote a “Letter to the bishops of the Catholic church of the pastoral care of homosexual persons,” in which he damned homosexuality as “intrinsically evil.”

Howard Stern

What you need in order to get the distinctive looks of the radio shock jock is a big curly wig, a pair of glasses, and black rock-end-roll clothing. But although he is a unique person and a great entertainer who owns his voice, Howard has sometimes gone over the top. Like that time in 2015 when he called the then 22-year-old Sam Smith “fat, gay, and worshiped by little girls.” And then added, that this is how you know you have a good song and a good voice.

Not cool, man!

A Boy Scout

It took many, MANY years for BSA to change its conservative ways. It wasn’t until 2013 that the national executive board decided to lift the ban on gay and transgender members to join the organization. BSA earned a Sissy Award in 1992 for kicking out a leader just for being lesbian. After that event, people started giving back their Scout badges in protest and calling for changes. Unfortunately, even today the decision to get rid of gay leaders is up to some religious-based groups. It may be sexy to dress like a boy scout, but if I were you, I’d think twice before going to a costume party wearing a polyester uniform shirt and pants, and a green merit badge sash.

Vladimir Putin

It’s definitely fun wearing a Putin mask no matter if you are robbing a bank or attending a costume party… But! Do you really want to impersonate a political leader who signed a gay propaganda ban and another one that disallows foreigners from adopting a Russian child if they come from a country where they support gay marriages? Not without a reason, Putin was promoted Phobie of the Year in 2013 by Out Magazine!