Arrow star Stephen Amell sparks debate for wearing gay for pay t-shirt to Vancouver Pride

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      It seems when Stephen Amell attends Vancouver Pride festivities, he can't seem to escape controversy.

      The Toronto-born Amell plays the lead character Oliver Queen (Green Arrow) on the TV superhero series Arrow. (There are some potential jokes in there about queens and arrows but we'll let you figure out those for yourself.)

      In 2017, when he posted some images of himself attending Vancouver Pride while wearing a colourful balloon outfit, he was surprised to receive a large number of homophobic comments about it.

      In response, he had vowed to march in the parade if the negativity continued.

      https://www.instagram.com/p/BXeYK5qhxbb

      This year, he didn't march in the parade but he attended Pride again, hanging out and posing with partygoers and drag queens. But he wore a shirt that sparked criticism—this time from LGBT community members and allies.

      His shirt stated "I'm not gay but $20 is $20", a reference to being gay for pay, or straight guys being willing to engage in same-sex acts for money.

      While he demonstrated he's not homophobic by attending the parade and posing with drag queens, his shirt sparked debates online and in the comments sections of his social media, with some criticizing the message it conveyed and finding it offensive while others defended it as humorous.

      https://www.instagram.com/p/BmHvLhyBYnc
      https://www.instagram.com/p/BmHK9dchnZC

      Meanwhile, Arrow started shooting Season 7 in Vancouver on July 6 and will continue filming until April 18.

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      You can follow Craig Takeuchi on Twitter at @cinecraig or on Facebook. You can also follow the Straight's LGBT coverage on Twitter at @StraightLGBT or on Facebook.

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