Personal Life
In 2009, he advocated the parole of former Manson family member Leslie Van Houten. He devotes a chapter to Van Houten in his book Role Models published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux in May 2010.
In 2011, John Waters visited Lake Forest College to give a speech, and was interviewed by the professor Davis Schneiderman.
An openly gay man, Waters is also an avid supporter of gay rights and gay pride.
Waters was a great fan of the music of Little Richard when growing up, claiming that ever since shoplifting a copy of his song "Lucille" in 1957, "I've wished I could somehow climb into Little Richard's body, hook up his heart and vocal cords to my own, and switch identities." In 1987, Playboy magazine employed Waters to interview his idol, but the interview did not go well, with Waters later remarking that "it turned into kind of a disaster."
Read more about this topic: John Waters (filmmaker)
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