We felt it was important that one of us play him, to ensure the integrity and show it is so important to the filmmakers that one of us is representing that. “It was important to us as we did four of these films, we wanted a gay character somewhere in them. As an example, the Russos said some wonderful things about the importance of representation for Avengers: Endgame.
If you don’t remember who any of these “first” gay characters are, you’ll be forgiven, since as Placido says, they have very minuscule roles despite being heralded as the first. It’s a familiar milestone for the company, as Disney has pioneered their “first” gay character at least 7 times, give or take Onward, Beauty and the Beast, Jungle Cruise, The Rise of Skywalker, Zootopia, Toy Story 4, and Avengers: Endgame all feature minor characters who make exceedingly subtle references hinting at same-sex attraction.Ĭonveniently, these minuscule slivers of LGBTQ representation are so brief, so utterly irrelevant to the plot of these films, that they can be easily edited out for socially conservative audiences, as was the case with the quick lesbian kiss from The Rise Of Skywalker. In the case of Cruella, it seems to be a combination of McCrea being gay, his Attitude interview, and what’s been said by reviewers online, but as noted in this article by Dani Di Placido’s for Forbes, Disney itself has done this “first gay” promise in the past: I want to say that McCrea being gay has given outlets reason to flock to this idea harder than they have before, but this preemptive celebration of queerness is something that’s gone on for years. McCrea isn’t even the first actor to come out and say something like this, a recent example being Kelly Marie Tran with Raya. The problem for me, personally, isn’t what McCrea is saying, as to me it boils down to, “I see the character as queer, the character is fabulous and has a wonderful outlook on life.” That’s fine, and honestly, there’s a chance I’ll feel the same way about Artie whenever I get a chance to watch Cruella. A wonderful line he says is: ‘normal is the harshest insult of all.’ A wonderful mentality to have.” Also with the idea that he’s completely well-adjusted, very happy, and has a real lust for life. “If I had a character growing up like that to watch on the screen I would’ve fallen in love. Later in the interview, McCrea says this:
But his lifestyle is fabulous, he loves his life and it was so fun to play him.” Asked if the character was written as queer, John replied: “In one of the original scripts he was a drag queen, so I think he was always intended to be queer-representing I suppose, or somehow a member of the LGBTQ community. It’s not beating you on the head with a stick. But we don’t see him falling in love there’s no social aspect to the character. “It depends on who you’re asking I suppose – but for me, yes, it’s official: he’s queer. McCrea had this to say about the character in an interview with Attitude: Openly gay actor John McCrea plays the character, Artie, the fashion-obsessed friend of Cruella.