Once again, started commenting on something (this time on yt lol), it started getting lengthy, so I erased it and came here to rant.
The video was mainly about a comment Anthony Mackie made like a month or so ago, about Sam/Bucky shippers. I honestly wasn't paying a lot of attention to the rest, because the reminder just sort of fired up my frustration with how his remark was taken out of context and used as clickbait, twisting his words to make him seem homophobic. If you read the whole quote, that is absolutely not the case. He wasn't complaining about homosexuality, he was speaking out against queerbaiting and toxic masculinity, and I personally agree with him. Even though I also ship Sam/Bucky and would love to see them falling in love on screen, I 100% agree with Mackie's point: That close male friendships are too often either ridiculed or twisted around and seen as "gay." Two men (at least in the US) can't be emotionally supportive and openly affectionate with each other without having their sexuality called into question, and that is so sad. The whole point of friendship is to have that emotional support!
There was something in the video about Mackie fans and Seb fans pointing fingers at each other, or something? Trying to invent a "feud" where there is none by twisting Sebastian's words as well, or something... Anyway, as I understand it, Sebastian's stance is to let the fandom run wild, and he's not remotely bothered by any interpretation of how he plays his characters. He's openly pro-shipping (he ships BuckyNat and has made Stucky comments lol) and he encourages fanfiction. It seems like his whole thing is he loves when people have strong feelings about his work; he loves inspiring passion. As Mackie has said, and the youtuber reiterated, Sebastian is a "chameleon". He wants to disappear behind his work and have the fans see the character, not him. And he's not the least bit bothered by people shipping his characters with literally fucking anyone lol. I love it.
These two points of view, imo, are not contradictory. And they sure as hell don't point to a "feud" between two (famously, openly, super super close) friends. It seems like Mackie wants to show more sensitivity and nuance in heterosexual men on screen, to encourage those qualities in men out in the world; to promote healthier male friendships and move past the toxic "if you show affection you MUST BE GAY and also gay=weak and girly!!!" view pervasive in the western world. And Sebastian is all about emotional connection and representation. He supports the LGBT community without getting soap-boxy, and he seems to just want everyone to be happy and healthy and to feel seen/heard. Both of these stances, imo, are beautiful, and I think they fit each other well. Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan are both good men who just want to see the world evolve and become a better, more inclusive place.