‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ Criticised For “Homophobic” Gay Jokes
Image: Source: Disney
LGBTQI+ Marvel fans are expressing their disappointment at the use of queerness as a punchline in Deadpool & Wolverine, with the repeated gay jokes being called unfunny and sincerely homophobic.
It follows a marketing campaign that drew criticism from fans for portraying Deadpool’s pansexuality as a joke, which was described as Disney playing “gay chicken for the laughs of the bigoted fanbase.”
Now with the release of Deadpool & Wolverine in theatres, many viewers were left frustrated with the gay jokes that see a potential relationship between the two titular heroes as the butt of a joke.
Film critic Joe Lipsett commented that the humour was on a frat boy level and “how funny or gross it is to put two men’s junk in close proximity,” while also lamenting that the element of playful pansexuality in Deadpool’s character has been exchanged for outright mockery.
Twitter/X user @EPM106 labelled the film as “sincerely homophobic”, and @notfunEman was left unimpressed by the constant reliance on jokes about being gay:
Me when Deadpool makes the fifth joke in a row where the punchline is “being gay” or “I will get cancelled for that one”
pic.twitter.com/EEtWOurG4E— Ethan 🔜 #TIFF24 ? (@notfunEman) July 27, 2024
@akingofburbank labelled Deadpool & Wolverine as “one of Marvel’s most conservative films” owing to a concerning amount of gay panic and cancellation jokes, as well as the usage of the R-slur.
Why Deadpool & Wolverine‘s gay jokes sting
Apart from how lazy many of the jokes were, fans especially lamented the fact that they came at the expense of X-Men characters, who have long provided comfort to LGBTQIA+ people as they fought back against oppression and prejudice in a strong allegorical link to the queer experience.
This stings especially hard when considering the fact Deadpool is canonically pansexual, and there was an alternate universe version of Wolverine who was gay.
Others said that the jokes would’ve been more tolerable had the characters actually been given the chance to express queerness on screen – alas, no such thing occurs.
Deadpool & Wolverine, which also stars Emma Corrin in the villainous role of Cassandra Nova, is in cinemas now.
Mr Lipsett’s views are highly subjective on this matter. I personally did not find the homo erotic jokes homophobic or offensive what so ever. (Do we honestly have to complain about everything). Clearly the film is an ultimate success, now grossing globally over 1 billion dollars at the box office. Mr Lipsett l loved the film and I have watched it twice. 🤗
If people think that Deadpool is homophobic, it’s because Disney is finally tired of losing money.