Link to the n*de photos

The Andy Griffith Show (1960-68) focused on Andy Taylor, as the sheriff of small-town Mayberry, and his mildly wacky family and friends, n a world where hippies, the Vietnam War, and the Civil Rights Movement did not exist (although gay-vague people did). I never watched by choice: even at six and seven years old, I thought it unbearably square. How about some science fiction, like Star Trek, or a hip parody like Laugh-In, or at least a show with cute guys? No one in Mayberry was cute

Andy Griffith went on to play oldster lawyer Matlock, and his tv son Ron Howard, to become a director infamous for turning gay characters straight. Ugh.

So why does Amazon Prime think I'll "love" Mayberry Man (2021), "a family friendly film" that "will have you yearning for a simpler time?" Those are two heteronormative gender-polarized gay free red flags.

The premise: A-list, snobbish, sinful Hollywood actor Chris ("husband, father, and Chris follower" Brett Varvel) is arrested for speeding in Georgia. Somehow it's legal for the judge to sentence him to a week at the annual Mayberry Festival in North Carolina, assisting the celebrity guest -- his estranged father, who had a bit part in Season 3 (for a show that old, you take whatever cast members you can find).

He arrives all Hollywood excess, with his star-struck assistant Shane (Jakob Winters) in tow. Both are seduced by the small-town charm and "good old-fashioned values," and meet the Girls of Their Dreams. And God. Oh, and Christ reconciles with his Dad, of course.

The gay exclusion is so hot, it burns. And there are no people of color, either. They do have a woman mayor. Shouldn't she be off cooking something?

I hate-watched some of the sequel tv series (2024), where they save the town from an evil developer or something. The evangelization comes on hot and heavy:

Shane: "I hope no one steals the Baby Jesus from the Nativity scene."

The Woman of Chris's Dreams: "Who would steal the Savior of the world?"

At least it has a swishy-straight Black character (in L.A., of course, certainly not in Mayberry), played by "Honor Thy Father and Mother" Christian comedian Christian McCartney (seen here picking up a guy, har har).

And Jakob Winter or Winters piqued my interest. For biceps like that, I can handle a little gay erasure and family-friendly fundamentalism.

I can't imagine that a gay actor would agree to appear in Mayberry Man, or an actor with n*de photos available. But surely there are some beefcake shots available, and who knows? Maybe he's accidentally appeared in something with a gay subtext.

He doesn't have a lot of social media presence, so I only managed to put together a few biographical details:

He's from Kenosha, Wisconsin., of German ancestry (another Jakob Winters designs violin cases in Deutschland).

His mother has a different name.

In high school he was n the band.

He was chubby and bullied until he started working out.

2016 Jakob enrolled at Ball State University as an acting major.

He performed at the Richmond Shakespeare Festival in 2018, playing minor characters in Macbeth and Florizel in A Winter's Tale.

In 2020, he received a BFA in Acting, and moved to New York.

No Jakob Winter appears in any search of Ball State University or Kenosha, Wisconsin. I wonder if he is using a stage name.

Next, his seven acting credits on the IMDB:

In 2020, an episode of What Would You Do?, a reality show where actors perform scenarios, and real-life bystanders respond.

In a restaurant, a Bisexual Guy (Bryce Koehl, n*de on RG Beefcake and Boyfriends) comes out as bisexual in a restaurant. His Straight Friend (Jacob) says "Bisexuality doesn't exist!" Bystanders rush to correct him.

In another scenario, his Gay Friend (Jakob again) tells him, "You're just gay and afraid to come out." Again, bystanders rush to correct him.

Performing in some skits that educate us about bisexual identity? I'm shocked, Jakob.

More after the break

Also in 2020, Jakob appeared in On the Tracks at the New Normal Fest Wausau, Wisconsin. Playwright Emma S. Rund states that there are not enough womxn characters in the theater: "Feminism must be intersectional, and putting exclusively cis gender white women on stage is not enough."

The Fest featured other queer playwrights, musicians, and artists.

Um...Jakob, buddy, that's awfully inclusive for someone who will be in Mayberry next year.

In 2021, he moved on to Mayberry Man and an episode of Law and Order: SVU: Jacob and Conor Sweeney (n*de on RG Beefcake and Boyfriends) are influencer brothers, a pair of "homophobic, misogynistic asses" who have the habit of getting women drunk or high, doing things with them, and then claiming that it was consensual.

Fresh out of Mayberry, and you're starring in a show where homophobia is portrayed as bad? You're giving us mixed signals, buddy.

In 2024, Jacob starred in Mayberry Man: The Series and an episode of Elsbeth, about a wacky amateur detective. Jakob plays Grayden, the assistant of Christmas-themed party planner Dirk Dasher, who is trying to kill his wife with faulty Christmas lights. Later he is asked if the Dirk sexually harassed him or any of the staff. "No, he was always a gentleman."

So a guy is asked if he was sexually harassed by a guy? Dude, your character is gay.

Nice costume, by the way. Can we see the other side?

(On RG Beefcake and Boyfriends).

In 2025, Jakob appeared in an episode of The Equalizer, about a mysterious woman who helps you bring the bad guys to justice when the police can't (or won't). Jimmy and Niko (Jakob, Corwin C. Tuggles, Tyrone in Backyardigans) went to college together, majored in gaming, assuming that it would get them out of poverty, but they were working dead-end jobs, so they stole $8 million from Nico's family business, assuming that his parents would get the money back with insurance. But they accidentally stole some mobster's money, too.

No girlfriends mentioned in the script. These guys are a gay couple, or at least a gay subtext couple.

To sum up: five gay or gay-adjacent roles.

Nothing on his Instagram and TikTok but modeling and flexing.