Entourage and Heterosexual Privilege

There is no denying that HBO’s “Entourage” is one of TV’s most popular and catchy shows. The half an hour long comedy is about a movie star, Vincent Chase, and his rise to fame with the help of his aging actor of a brother, Johnny Drama, his best friend and manger, Eric, and his carefree friend, Turtle. Each episode always has a main plot that is carried on and continued week by week but there are also daily mishaps and occurrences that seem to always cause problems. Its viewers are attracted weekly because of the opportunity they have to see what the life of a movie star would be like, a slight reprieve from the monotony of normal life. It seems as if HBO has created yet another hit.



For me though, I have always been entertained by the comical relationship between Ari, Vince’s agent played by Jeremy Piven, and his gay assistant, Lloyd played by the openly gay Rex Lee. Ari alone gets dozens of laughs per show but his banter with Lloyd is priceless. Very often, the one-liners Ari delivers come at the expense of Lloyd and his sexual orientation. In the episode Dog Day Afternoon, Ari wants to sign a gay TV writer who has never had a straight agent so in an effort to show him that “he is a friend to the gay man,” Ari pimps Lloyd. This episode is a perfect example of heterosexual privilege. Ari assumes that just because the writer is gay and that Lloyd is gay that it’s a done deal. This type of discrimination is in no way justified. Why is it that just because Lloyd is gay and the writer is gay that they will immediately hit it off and he’ll want to sign with Ari’s agency? It’s safe to say that every straight man and woman don’t want to be with each other so I don’t see why it is assumed that all gay men want to be with each other. All Ari wanted was for Lloyd to, “go grab your best dress and know that your love of cock is a huge asset to this company.”

Heterosexual privilege is a common thread that very often goes unnoticed in the media. Almost every episode of “Entourage” has some part in it that has Ari poking fun at Lloyd in some way. I see it as just a show and not a personal reflection of the executives but the fact that it goes unnoticed to many is a problem.

By the way, Ari’s plan did work and the writer did want to sign with him until Ari’s conscience got the best of him and Ari was forced to save Lloyd.