We’ve conducted some highly unofficial gay market research and have come to the conclusion that no single film role has been responsible for more sexual awakenings than Brad Pitt in 1991’s Thelma & Louise.
With barely seven minutes of screen time, he makes quite the impression—particularly the scene when, post-coitus, his handsome hitchhiker J.D. role-plays a robbery shirtless, donning a white cowboy hat and using hairdryer as a prop gun.
You want to talk about iconography? In that moment, each and every one of Pitt’s abs became an icon.
So, it’s perhaps none-too-surprising that masked country crooner Orville Peck cites the A-list actor’s breakthrough role as one of his personal sexual awakenings because, duh, who didn’t feel some time of way the first time they laid eyes on then-twenty-something Pitt in those perfectly snug bluejeans?
But also, as far as early crushes go, this one makes a lot of sense for Peck, a singer-songwriter whose entire persona plays into that same cowboy mystique, and lassoing its queer appeal.
This revelation came up in the premiere episode of Grindr‘s giggle-inducing new podcast, Who’s The A**hole? hosted by none other than drag superstar Katya Zamolodchikova (but your dad just call her Katya).
As the pod’s first guest, Peck is in the hot seat for the queen’s hilarious, probing line of questioning. When she asks him about being attracted to fame, the musician says that usually doesn’t do it for him—the only time he’s really been starstruck was when he met Brad Pitt.
“He’s beautiful, and I would risk it all to have one night of bliss with him,” Peck shared.
He went on to share the story of the time he accidentally bumped into Pitt while in line for the bathroom at an event and was so shocked, he couldn’t think of anything else to say other than, “Um, do you know where the bathroom is?” Which, again, he was already in line for the bathroom, so…
Anyway, Peck calls the Hollywood hunk the “marker for handsome” for his generation. “When you see this man—I’m not joking, I just want him to hold me. Like, he’s glowing.” Ugh, we can only imagine!
Katya’s right there with Peck for all the Brad Pitt thirst, so much so that when the “C’mon Baby, Cry” singer mentions his Thelma & Louise role, you can watch them both melt in their chairs. “HOT!,” they both say unison.
Again, it’s not hard to draw a line from young Peck’s Pitt obsession to who he is today: A queer country trailblazer whose entire look is indebted to Western Americana imagery (as he properly notes, Pitt’s a country boy at heart, too, originally from Oklahoma). Who’s to say if the Orville Peck we all know and love today would even exist if he had never see Thelma & Louise—and those abs!—at such an impressionable age.
But the whole conversation is a gag and well worth a listen, especially since Peck and Katya gab like old friends, talking about everything from drunk hookups, to what it means to be a “crooner,” to that time the musician got broken up with—while he was boarding a flight. Ouch.
There’s even a segment where Katya answers calls (on a very suggestively shaped phone!) from Grindr users, and she and her guest do their best to give advice for relationship and sex woes, judgment free (well, maybe with a little judgment).
You can listen on your podcast streaming platform or choice, or watch their conversation below:
New episodes of Grindr’s Who’s The A**hole? drop every Thursday, and Katya’s got even more fun guests lined up in the weeks ahead—including Trace Lysette, Saucy Santana, and Jordan Firstman!—so stay tuned.
