Movie Challenges Media to Question Crist's Sexuality

These days, Charlie Crist is surely wanting headlines to mention his Senate bid, not talk about his ex-boyfriends. But all that surfaces on the new movie Outrage, which opens locally tomorrow at Gateway in Fort Lauderdale.

Outrage chronicles the many closeted gay Republicans who have surfaced over the years. It details how they've lived a double life -- soliciting gay sex in public bathrooms and trolling the Internet for random hook-ups. The film emphasizes what's relevant about outing this very personal part of someone's life: the fact that these men supported anti-gay legislation and talked of "family values" conservatism.

I watched an advance copy of Outrage last night (click here for a review), and Crist comes in as the third politician profiled. It begins with a couple right-winged quotes from him. "I'm a consistent conservative," he tells a newscaster. "Marriage is a sacred relationship between a man and a woman," he said during gubernatorial debates.

Then comes New Times columnist Bob Norman, who talks about his research into Crist's mysterious past. Norman's shown poolside in his back yard, his dog running around nearby, and a cell phone attached to his ear. "I'm a journalist in the alternate realm," Norman tells Academy Award-nominated documentary filmmaker Kirby Dick. "I do the stories other journalists don't do."

Dick also interviewed two of Norman's sources, who detail how one of Crist's alleged ex-lovers described to them at a party about how he and Crist were involved in a physical relationship.

The section on Crist ends with a poignant message, one that will be relevant again in Crist's run for the Senate:

"No mainstream media followed up on Norman's story."