In Focus: Warren Beatty and the exploitation of male prettiness

The Oscar-winning movie star has built a career, in part, out of his physical desirability. And that includes being desired by queer men.

Whether he’s playing a bank robber, a hairdresser, or a rogue politician, Warren Beatty is always easy on the eyes. Illustration by Ben Rendich.

Several years ago, when comedians John Mulaney and Nick Kroll hosted the 2017 Independent Spirit Awards, they began the ceremony with a handful of “classic audience cutaways” — directing cameras to pick out some of the event’s high-profile guests for a light, pre-awards roasting.

They singled out nominee Annette Bening, praising her performance in Mike Mills’ 20th Century Women, before turning their attention to the man seated at her side: Warren Beatty.

“Uh-oh!,” Mulaney remarks to Bening. “Who is that sitting next to you? Is that your husband?”

“Hello, beautiful,” Kroll chimes in, making goo-goo eyes at the leather jacket-clad octogenarian.

“Who are you wearing?,” Mulaney asks in a patronizing tone. “Oh, you also do movies? Awww…”

The gag, of course, is that Mulaney and Kroll are calling out Hollywood’s long history of fostering sexist behavior, both in movies and off-screen at industry functions. Specifically, they’re jabbing at Mr. Beatty’s personal reputation as a serial dater, or womanizer, in the years before he married Bening in 1992.

“Warren, how does it feel to have the male gaze turned on you?,” Kroll quips.

Beatty, who is evidently game, offers two thumbs up. The hosts chuckle in relief.

Of course, what Kroll and Mulaney couldn’t have guessed — or, perhaps, merely didn’t think to guess — is that Warren Beatty is and has been more than familiar with soliciting the male gaze.

How do I know this? Hearsay.