Kerr Smith opens up about ‘crazy’ homophobic incident he faced for Dawson’s Creek gay role
Actor Smith discusses the hostility he faced for playing the character in his new book, I Don’t Wanna Wait: My Life on Dawson’s Creek
By Aaron Sugg
Actor Kerr Smith has opened up about a “crazy” homophobic incident after playing Jack McPhee, a gay character, in Dawson’s Creek.
In his new book, I Don’t Wanna Wait: My Life on Dawson’s Creek, the 54-year-old actor discusses the hostility he experienced because of the character in the teen drama.
Jack meant a lot to LGBTQ+ viewers. The character became one of the first openly gay teenage characters on a major US network television series.
Jack McPhee in Dawson’s Creek
Jack came out during the show’s second season in 1999, in a storyline that explored his struggle with his sexuality and his family’s reactions.
He later shared one of primetime television’s first passionate same-sex kisses with Ethan Brody, played by actor Adam Kaufman, in the Dawson’s Creek season three finale. Smith later said he was glad it made gay history.
He recalled the time in his new book, particularly an incident while filming in Wilmington, North Carolina, when he heard Baptists protesting outside the studio gates.
Kerr Smith faces homophobic backlash
Despite support from the cast and crew, the protests made him feel isolated. He wrote: “Even with all the support I got from the cast and crew, hearing those people screaming about Jack and gay people and abomination, it was hard not to feel isolated.”
Smith told People that including these experiences in the book was “very difficult” because he had never spoken about them in relation to his character.
He also recalled an incident in 2001 while filming The Forsaken in Yuma, Arizona. After leaving a casino where he had been playing poker on his day off, he discovered his car had been vandalised with homophobic graffiti.
Smith’s car defaced with homophobic graffiti
“My car was completely graffitied in anything you can imagine in terms of homosexuality,” he said. “It was crazy.” He added: “I had to have the guys from Transpo come out and clean it up, and they were nice enough to do that.”
Reflecting on the discrimination he faced because of his gay role, he said: “But it’s things like that, that I had to deal with back then, that were really, really tough.”
The book is part memoir and part behind-the-scenes history of Dawson’s Creek. I Don’t Wanna Wait: My Life on Dawson’s Creek is out now.