Star Wars: Billy Dee Williams Clarifies Comments About Being "Gender Fluid"

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is just a few short weeks away and Billy Dee Williams caused quite a stir last week with some comments about his personal life. Now, the Star Wars veteran wants to clear the air after many saw the story and rand with it. In an interview with Esquire, the actor said that he considered himself both masculine and feminine. Williams said, "I say 'himself' and 'herself,' because I also see myself as feminine as well as masculine," Williams began. "I'm a very soft person. I'm not afraid to show that side of myself." Now, a lot of that seems to indicate that the Lando Calrissian actor is genderqueer or at least non-binary, but statements from today would seem to indicate many jumped the gun. "Well, first of all, I asked last night, I said, 'What the hell is gender fluid?' That's a whole new term," Williams told the Undefeated.

He continued, ""What I was talking about was about men getting in touch with their softer side of themselves. There's a phrase that was coined by Carl G. Jung, who was a psychiatrist who was a contemporary of Sigmund Freud, and they had a splitting of the ways because they had different ideas about the … what do you call it? Consciousness. Unconscious. It's collective unconsciousness. But he coined a phrase that's, 'Anima animus.' And anima means that is the female counterpart of the male self, and the animus is the male counterpart of the female."

"So, that's what I was referring to. I was talking about men getting in touch with the female side of themselves. I wasn't talking about sex, I wasn't talking about being gay or straight. People should read [Jung]. I mean, it would be an interesting education for a lot of people," he concluded. "I'm not gay — by any stretch of the imagination. Not that I have anything against gay people. But personally? Not gay."

Williams is absolutely ecstatic to return for the end of the Skywalker Saga. The Rise of Skywalker is a bit of a "bittersweet" moment for the star. He told ET about his feelings at D23. "I guess it's bittersweet, I don't know," Williams began. "It's a wonderful experience, I didn't expect it." He even speculated that the property could, "probably go on for another 40 years."

The Rise of Skywalker's cast includes Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Adam Driver, Kelly Marie Tran, Anthony Daniels, Keri Russell, Richard E. Grant, Naomi Ackie, Domhnall Gleeson, Joonas Suotamo, Ian McDiarmid, Billy Dee Williams, Carrie Fisher, and Mark Hamill.

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker hits theaters on December 20.