Far-right pastor calls Star Wars "one of the gayest franchises" that's "feminized", receives backlash

Christian nationalist pastor Joel Webbon was called out by Star Wars fans after the pastor claimed the franchise to be one of the gayest. In a podcast episode, I'll Take Fascism Over Democracy, Joel said,

"It is one of the gayest franchises. One of the gayest stories. One of the gayest, I mean, it is seriously, it is so feminine. It is so feminized. It is so homosexual."

Before he made the statement, the pastor stated,

"In terms of the message of Star Wars, it is absolutely liberal boomer slop. If you like the message of Star Wars, then you need to sit down and tell your dad you're gay."

After he made the statements, Webbon faced criticism from the fans who argued that the franchise's fandom had already debated the issue and many fans actually believed the franchise could be even more inclusive.

Continue reading more about the story.

Joel Webbon faced backlash after calling Star Wars 'one of the gayest franchises'

In an NXR+ app-based episode, I'll Take Fascism Over Democracy, Joel Webbon tagged the Star Wars franchise as one of the gayest. He said that the message of the franchise reflected what he described as liberal boomer values and argued that anyone who connected with those themes should have a serious conversation with their father. He went on to call the franchise one of the 'gayest' and claimed that the series was heavily feminized and strongly associated with homosexuality.

After hearing what Joel said, many fans said that the franchise's fandom had already debated that topic years ago. In fact, a large part of the fandom felt the story could have been even more gay and include more minorities. After hearing what Joel said in the podcast, a Facebook user named Tim Baldwin commented that the man definitely has a Grindr account. While pointing to the podcast episode, the fans also claimed that many people on the political right fundamentally misunderstand the franchise.

Which Star Wars film revealed the first gay kiss?

The Rise of Skywalker, the final film of the sequel trilogy and the ninth film (Episode IX) of the Skywalker Saga, showed the first gay kiss in the franchise. The scene didn't involve the two characters many fans had expected. Instead, a brief scene featured two unnamed female Resistance members sharing a quick embrace and kiss. The scene lasted only a few seconds and was easy to miss.

Speaking to Variety, the director J.J. Abrams said it was important for the franchise to reflect the diversity of the real world. He explained that representing the LGBTQ community mattered to him because he wanted viewers from those communities to feel included and see themselves represented on screen.

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