{"id":758076,"date":"2026-02-17T10:45:15","date_gmt":"2026-02-17T10:45:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/758076\/"},"modified":"2026-02-17T10:45:15","modified_gmt":"2026-02-17T10:45:15","slug":"silence-of-the-lambs-star-ted-levine-apologizes-for-buffalo-bills-portrayal-and-transgender-vilification-its-fing-wrong","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/758076\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Silence of the Lambs\u2019 star Ted Levine apologizes for Buffalo Bill\u2019s portrayal and transgender vilification: ‘It\u2019s f***ing wrong’ |"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\u2018SilenceTed Levine says parts of \u2018Silence of the Lambs\u2019 have not aged well and acknowledges criticism over its portrayal of gender identity. He regrets that some elements of the film are now seen as harmful. Actor Ted Levine says parts of \u2018Silence of the Lambs\u2019 have not aged well, and he now regrets how the film handled gender identity. Levine, who played the killer Buffalo Bill, addressed long-running criticism from the transgender community in a new interview. He said the movie included lines and themes that he now sees as harmful. The Oscar-winning thriller, released 35 years ago, has faced backlash for its portrayal of the character also known as Jame Gumb.<\/p>\n

Transgender criticism of \u2018Silence of the Lambs\u2019<\/p>\n

Levine spoke to The Hollywood Reporter about the controversy tied to his role in \u2018Silence of the Lambs.\u2019 The film showed Buffalo Bill as a serial killer who murdered women and removed their skin. Though the script did not clearly define his sexual orientation, many viewers saw the character as trans or gender-nonconforming.\u201cThere are certain aspects of the movie that don\u2019t hold up too well,\u201d Levine told the outlet. He added, \u201cWe all know more, and I\u2019m a lot wiser about transgender issues.\u201d Levine said, \u201cThere are some lines in that script and movie that are unfortunate.\u201dOver time, his understanding changed. \u201c[It\u2019s] just over time and having gotten aware and worked with trans folks, and understanding a bit more about the culture and the reality of the meaning of gender,\u201d Levine said. He continued, \u201cIt\u2019s unfortunate that the film vilified that, and it\u2019s f***ing wrong. And you can quote me on that.\u201dAt the same time, Levine defended his approach to the role. \u201cI didn\u2019t play him as being gay or trans. I think he was just a f\u2013ked up heterosexual man. That\u2019s what I was doing,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

‘Silence of the Lambs’ legacy and response from producers<\/p>\n

\u2018Silence of the Lambs,\u2019 directed by Jonathan Demme, opened on Valentine\u2019s Day in 1991 and became a global hit. The film starred Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lecter and Jodie Foster<\/a> as FBI trainee Clarice Starling. It won five Academy Awards, including best picture, best actor, best actress, best director, and best screenplay.Edward Saxon<\/a>, Demme\u2019s producing partner, also spoke to The Hollywood Reporter. \u201cWe were really loyal to the book. As we made the film, there was just no question in our minds that Buffalo Bill was a completely aberrant personality \u2014 that he wasn\u2019t gay or trans,\u201d Saxon said.\u201cHe was sick. To that extent, we missed it,\u201d Saxon added. \u201cFrom my point of view, we weren\u2019t sensitive enough to the legacy of a lot of stereotypes and their ability to harm.\u201d He said there is regret but no bad intent. \u201cThere\u2019s regret, but it didn\u2019t come from any place of malice,\u201d Saxon said. \u201cWe thought it would just be very clear that Buffalo Bill adapts different things from society, from a place of an incredibly sick pathology.\u201dTed Levine, born on May 29, 1957, in Bellaire, Ohio, built a long-lasting career in film and television. He became widely known for playing Buffalo Bill in 1991’s ‘The Silence of the Lambs.’ He later starred as Captain Leland Stottlemeyer on the series \u2018Monk\u2019 from 2002 to 2009. Levine has also appeared in films including \u2018Heat,\u2019 \u2018The Fast and the Furious,\u2019 \u2018Shutter Island,\u2019 \u2018American Gangster,\u2019 and \u2018Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom.\u2019 His work spans stage roles, TV dramas, feature films, and voice performances. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ted Levine says parts of \u2018Silence of the Lambs\u2019 have not aged well and acknowledges criticism over its…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":758077,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2048],"tags":[215,214,108359,53,2086,108365,108362,7,108361,108364,6,108363,108357,108358,108360],"class_list":["post-758076","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-buffalo-bills","tag-bills","tag-buffalo","tag-buffalo-bill-portrayal","tag-buffalo-bills","tag-buffalobills","tag-edward-saxon","tag-film-stereotypes","tag-football","tag-gender-identity-issues","tag-jodie-foster","tag-nfl","tag-oscar-winning-thriller","tag-silence-of-the-lambs","tag-ted-levine-apology","tag-transgender-criticism"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116085570554872673","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/758076","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=758076"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/758076\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/758077"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=758076"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=758076"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=758076"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}