Few Supreme Court Justices are as comfortable with the media as Antonin Scalia, but the two voluble interview sessions he agreed to in the forthcoming issue of New York magazine stand out even for him for their candor.
In the interview with New York’s Jennifer Senior, Scalia discusses everything from his conception of the Devil to his process of writing briefs. He also laments, ”One of the things that upsets me about modern society is the coarseness of manners. You can’t go to a movie — or watch a television show for that matter — without hearing the constant use of the F-word–including, you know, ladies using it.”
Senior also asks Scalia about the swift change in society’s recognition of gay rights. ”I was wondering what kind of personal exposure you might have had to this sea change,” she says. Scalia replies, “I have friends that I know, or very much suspect, are homosexual. Everybody does.” Asked if any have come out to him, Scalia says, “No. No. Not that I know of.” Considering this is a man who has made a career of anti-gay comments and jurisprudence, that’s just shocking.
Irin Carmon