Hollywood hunk Gerry admits he ditched Saints at six

From the Paisley Daily Express:

http://www.paisleydailyexpress.co.uk/renfrewshire-news/2011/08/11/hollywood-hunk-gerry-admits-he-ditched-saints-at-six-87085-29214331/


Hollywood hunk Gerry admits he ditched Saints at six

Aug 11 2011 by Lynn Jolly, Paisley Daily Express

MOVIE megastar Gerard Butler was shown the red card by Buddies yesterday ... after the Paisley actor put the boot into St Mirren.

Gerard, who grew up in the posh Ralston area, left Paisley fans fuming by revealing that he ditched Saints so he could follow Celtic as a kid.

His dig at his home town’s team came as he pulled on a Hoops jersey on Tuesday night for the star-studded John Kennedy testimonial match at Celtic Park.

Teams of celebrities joined former players of Celtic and Manchester United for the ‘Legends Match’ which was watched by 55,000 fans and raised cash for Oxfam’s East Africa Famine Appeal.

The match was broadcast live on ITV4 and, when Gerard was interviewed after playing the first 70 minutes, he told the audience: “I was a St Mirren supporter until I was six and then I saw the light and followed the Bhoys. I can’t explain what it means to pull on this jersey.”

But those comments have earned the star a ticking off from St Mirren’s general manager Brian Caldwell.

Mr Caldwell said: “If everybody from Paisley got behind us, instead of supporting the city clubs, we would be a stronger team.

“There is so much good stuff going on at St Mirren and we are a community-orientated club, so it is really disappointing that someone with such a high profile has admitted to switching allegiances.”

Gerard, who trained to be a lawyer, has always maintained he is proud of his Scottish roots but he caused controversy last year by claiming that growing up in Paisley was like living in a “war zone.”

The town’s civic leaders were raging when the star of hit films such as 300 and The Bounty Hunter, told American style magazine Angeleno that, as a youngster, he regularly crossed through an “insane” part of Paisley to buy shopping for his mum.

Now Paisley MSP George Adam, who is also a keen St Mirren fan, has urged Gerard to use his star status to support his home town. SNP man Mr Adam said: “I think this is another example of Gerard Butler forgetting where he came from. He has previously described Paisley as being like something from one of his movies – yet he came from Ralston, which is one of our leafy suburbs.

“I have enjoyed some of his films but he seems to want to rewrite history.

“Most Buddies have a soft spot for St Mirren and we need people to show support for the club. Gerard seems to fly in from LA and talk Paisley down when someone with his high profile should be promoting the town.”

The match raised £300,000 and you can make a donation to the Oxfam East Africa Appeal online at http://www.oxfam.org.uk/ or by calling 0300 200 1999.