Rudolph Valentino (1923) “I hate Valentino! All men hate Valentino. I hate his oriental optics; I hate his classic nose; I hate his Roman face; I hate his smile; I hate his glistening teeth; I hate his patent leather hair; I hate his Svengali glare; I hate him because he dances too well; I hate him because he’s a slicker; I hate him because he’s the great lover of the screen; I hate him because he’s an embezzler of hearts; I hate him because he’s too apt in the art of osculation; I hate him because he’s leading man for Gloria Swanson; I hate him because he’s too good-looking. Ever since he came galloping in with the “Four Horseman” he has been the cause of more home cooked battle royals than they can print in the papers. The women are all dizzy over him. The men have formed a secret order (of which I am running for president and chief executioner as you may notice) to loathe, hate and despise him for obvious reasons. What! Me jealous?—Oh, no—I just hate him.” -Player Hater/Journalist Richard Dorgan (Photoplay magazine, 1922), expressing the general dislike American men felt towards the alarmingly metrosexual & androgynous Valentino. (Not surprisingly, Valentino was not a fan of Dorgan’s opinions and threatened to kill Dorgan if he ever set foot on the studio lot again)

Rudolph Valentino (1923)

“I hate Valentino! All men hate Valentino. I hate his oriental optics; I hate his classic nose; I hate his Roman face; I hate his smile; I hate his glistening teeth; I hate his patent leather hair; I hate his Svengali glare; I hate him because he dances too well; I hate him because he’s a slicker; I hate him because he’s the great lover of the screen; I hate him because he’s an embezzler of hearts; I hate him because he’s too apt in the art of osculation; I hate him because he’s leading man for Gloria Swanson; I hate him because he’s too good-looking.

Ever since he came galloping in with the “Four Horseman” he has been the cause of more home cooked battle royals than they can print in the papers. The women are all dizzy over him. The men have formed a secret order (of which I am running for president and chief executioner as you may notice) to loathe, hate and despise him for obvious reasons.

What! Me jealous?—Oh, no—I just hate him.”

-Player Hater/Journalist Richard Dorgan (Photoplay magazine, 1922), expressing the general dislike American men felt towards the alarmingly metrosexual & androgynous Valentino.

(Not surprisingly, Valentino was not a fan of Dorgan’s opinions and threatened to kill Dorgan if he ever set foot on the studio lot again)