The 1991 Oscar-winning film The Silence of the Lambs turned 35 this month, but instead of celebrating its legacy, key members of the cast and crew used the anniversary to apologize for the film’s portrayal of the serial killer Buffalo Bill.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter published over the weekend, actor Ted Levine, who played Jame “Buffalo Bill” Gumb, and producer Edward Saxon addressed long-standing complaints from transgender activists that the character portrays “harmful stereotypes.”
“There are certain aspects of the movie that don’t hold up too well,” Levine told the outlet. “We all know more, and I’m a lot wiser about transgender issues. There are some lines in that script and movie that are unfortunate.”
This interview marks the first time the actor has addressed the charges of “transphobia” in the film.
“[It’s] just over time and having gotten aware and worked with trans folks, and understanding a bit more about the culture and the reality of the meaning of gender,” the actor said. “It’s unfortunate that the film vilified that, and it’s fucking wrong. And you can quote me on that.”
Levine insisted, however, that he never portrayed the character as gay or transgender.
“I didn’t play him as being gay or trans. I think he was just a fucked-up heterosexual man. That’s what I was doing,” Levine said.
Producer Edward Saxon echoed the regret while defending the filmmakers’ original intent.
“We were really loyal to the book,” Saxon said. “As we made the film, there was just no question in our minds that Buffalo Bill was a completely aberrant personality — that he wasn’t gay or trans. He was sick. To that extent, we missed it. From my point of view, we weren’t sensitive enough to the legacy of a lot of stereotypes and their ability to harm.”
“There’s regret, but it didn’t come from any place of malice. It actually came from a place of seeing this guy. We all had dear friends and family who were gay. We thought it would just be very clear that Buffalo Bill adapts different things from society, from a place of an incredibly sick pathology,” he continued.
Unfortunately, transgender killers are a real threat that is on the rise.
Last week, 18-year-old Jesse Van Rootselaar, a transgender lunatic, committed one of the deadliest mass shootings in Canada’s history, leaving nine dead and 25 injured in British Columbia.
On August 27, 2025, 23-year-old biological male Robin Westman, born Robert Westman, opened fire during a school Mass at Minneapolis Annunciation Catholic School, killing two young children and wounding 17 others. Westman had “Kill Donald Trump” written on one of the firearms.
In 2023, biological female Audrey Hale, who identified as transgender male “Aiden,” murdered six people, including three 9-year-old children, at the Christian elementary school Nashville Covenant, which she once attended.
Trans Mass Shooter Pattern Continues: Canada, Kirk, US Christian School, and Catholic Church
The Gateway Pundit has covered countless other murders by people suffering from this mental illness.
The post ‘Silence of the Lambs’ Producer and Actor Who Played Buffalo Bill Express Regret Over 35-Year-Old Film Because of ‘Transphobia,’ but Trans Killers Are a Real Rising Threat appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.