Jim Carrey Mocks David Letterman For “Gay Leading Man” Question

In case you hadn’t heard, Jim Carrey‘s got a new movie coming out, I Love You Phillip Morris, in which Carrey plays con man who escapes from Texas prisons four times. It’s based on a true story, and oh, the other thing about Carrey’s character is that he’s gay, and in love with a man played by co-star Ewan McGregor.

Enter David Letterman, and the lively chat Friday night starts to look like dinner at your grandparents when somebody mistakenly brings up politics. Silverware clanks onto the china.

Stumbling to phrase the question–perhaps not wanting to seem in any way offensive, but just missing–Letterman asks Carrey if he thinks, you know, maybe this wasn’t the right role for him:

“in terms of a leading man, a heterosexual leading man, a heterosexual playing a homosexual, do homosexuals say ‘well, that shouldn’t have been a homosexual’ or do you worry about your image as a heterosexual leading man playing a homosexual?”

And like a kid playing t-ball, Carry doesn’t miss the chance to knock it straight back at Old Man Dave:

“Boy, we haven’t grown at all, have we? We haven’t grown at all…. We’re still children in the schoolyard. Honestly. No offense Dave, for god’s sakes, have you ever seen a gay man? Are there gay people in Indiana? Is it ok to be gay there, is what I’m asking. There’s not a policy against gay people there or here?”

Letterman may not be the only one not quite sure how to approach Jim Carrey in a “gay leading role.” Back in April, the LA Times reported the film had been shelved “indefinitely” amid speculation the studio wasn’t sure how to market the film.

Watch the entire–very funny–interview here, from CBS: