Gay rights workers have praised 50 Cent for his honesty in a controversial interview in which he said he didn’t like homosexuals.

The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation did express concern over his controversial comments to Playboy magazine.

But GLAAD spokeswoman C Riley Snorton said: “We applaud his honesty in talking about the murder of his bisexual mother and appreciate his acknowledgement that he is not comfortable with gay people.

“We know that confronting homophobia can indeed be uncomfortable. But honesty is always the first step in overcoming the desire to judge those who are different than us and in overcoming prejudice.”

In the April issue of Playboy, 50 Cent said he wasn’t into “f****ts” and that he didn’t like “gay people around me”.

Snorton stressed that it was important to provoke dialogue on the subject of homosexuality with artists who have influence in their respective communities.

“We’re in the public-education business, and we see this as an opportunity for change,” she said.

“We’d like this to be the start of a dialogue. We believe the more he knows about the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community, the more comfortable he’ll become.”

Snorton also publicly invited the rapper to attend the GLAAD Media Awards in New York on April 12.

Credit: ananova