Jeremy Renner Addresses Sexual Preference Rumors

Peter Kramer/NBC(NEW YORK) — Jeremy Renner recently responded to rumors about his sexual preference. So is he or isn’t he?

“I’m not going to try to prove what I am or am not,” the Avengers star told Playboy magazine. “It’s silly, right? When you Google yourself and the first thing that comes up is ‘Jeremy Renner gay,’ it’s like, ‘Oh, now you’ve arrived. You’re now a giant star.'”

He continued, “I don’t care, ultimately, if that’s what people want to think, read and care about. F***ing say whatever the hell you want about me. Look at where we’re at socially — leaps and bounds ahead of where we started. That’s an amazing thing. To suggest that it’s negative, that being gay is a terrible thing, a perversion or whatever — I just don’t get it.”

When the conversation turned to family, Renner talked about the home he’s in now and his plans for his beloved daughter Ava, 2.

“This will be my daughter’s place in the future,” he said. “I own it now, but Ava owns me. When she drew her first breath and with that palmar reflex grabbed my finger, the thought came to me, if all goes well, this same scenario will happen when I take my last breath.”

With his daughter and his love for her in mind, Renner also opened up about the struggles of his ongoing divorce from ex Sonni Pacheco. The two announced they were married late last year, but the two split months later. Divorce proceedings began earlier this year.

“I haven’t slept more than four hours a night in the past week,” he revealed. “My skin’s breaking out. I’ve got dark circles under my eyes. I’m dehydrated. I look like s**t. I felt pretty insecure walking into a photo shoot this morning, and I was running late because I had just gotten out of my fourth deposition for the divorce.”

The Oscar-nominated actor’s parents also split when he was just in third grade and his situation contributed to the man he is today. “They didn’t have a lot of money, and after the divorce, we moved around a lot. Up until junior high, I thought a new grade meant a new school for everybody,” he said, adding that may be what spawned his “shyness.”

Renner won’t be acting shy, however, when he stars in his next film, Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation, out July 31.

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