Colin Farrell Bashes Gay-Bashing

Actor speaks out against homophobia and shares some of the nightmares his gay brother, Eamon, has endured

We often think of Colin Farrell as an outspoken playboy, but now he's getting serious and speaking out against homophobia.

The Golden Globe winner is taking the stand largely on behalf of his older brother, Eamon. Last week, Colin spoke at an event for BeLonG To, an Irish LGBT organization aimed at teens, about some of his sibling's struggles.

"I can't remember much about the years of physical and emotional abuse my brother, Eamon, suffered," he said. "The thing I do remember though, quite literally, is blood on his school shirt when he came home in the afternoon. The beatings and taunting were very frequent for him and a constant part of his school years."

The actor went on to talk about differences leading to fear for people and how that can lead "us to do terrible things in a shadow of our better selves."

"Intolerance is not genetically encoded—it is taught. It is learned at home. It is learned in the classrooms and it is learned anywhere else we gather as a group," he continues. "Bullying is torture, it is another betrayal of basic human decency and its scars reach into the future of its survivors."

Eamon and his partner, Steve Mannion, reportedly tied the knot last summer in Canada and held a reception in Ireland around the holidays.