'Power Rangers'' Gay Moment Is a Good Step, But a Small One | WIRED

Contents:

• THE POWER RANGERS INTRODUC ITS FIRST GAY CHARACTER
• POWER RANGERS INTRODUC FIRST OPENLY GAY CEMATIC SUPERHERO
• ORIGAL BLUE POWER RANGER DAVID YOST ON GAY REPRENTATN NETFLIX'S POWER RANGERS RNN SPECIAL
• 'POWER RANGERS' REBOOT FEATUR THE FIRST OPENLY GAY MOVIE SUPERHERO CHARACTER
• 'POWER RANGERS' MOVIE INTRODUC GAY SUPERHERO PLAYED BY BECKY G: 'I'M PROUD SHE IS SUCH A STRONG CHARACTER'
• POWER RANGERS INTRODUC FIRST BIG SCREEN GAY SUPERHERO
• ‘POWER RANGERS’ MAK BLOCKBTER HISTORY WH FIRST GAY SUPERHERO
• 'POWER RANGERS' GAY CHARACTER: HERE'S HOW BECKY G'S CHARACTER ADDRS HER SEXUALY
• POWER RANGERS' GAY MOMENT IS A GOOD STEP, BUT A SMALL ONE
• MALAYSIA WILL NOT CENSOR ‘POWER RANGERS’ BEE OF GAY CHARACTER

THE POWER RANGERS INTRODUC ITS FIRST GAY CHARACTER

X-Men’s Northstar, the first openly gay character om eher DC or Marvel, was troduced the ics 1992. Supergirl, which is om openly gay producer Greg Berlanti, jos fellow Berlanti CW shows Legends of Tomorrow and Arrow featurg LGBT characters.

Origal Blue Ranger actor David Yost, who is openly gay and left the 1990s Power Rangers seri after facg harassment over his sexual orientatn, praised the new film for s clivens. Power Rangers on the heels of Disney’s Bety and the Beast live-actn remake, which Josh Gad plays Disney’s first-ever gay character, LeFou. In the sci-fi movie world, last year’s Star Trek Beyond revealed that Sulu (played by John Cho the rebooted Star Trek movie universe), was gay.

POWER RANGERS INTRODUC FIRST OPENLY GAY CEMATIC SUPERHERO

LGBTQIA+ pertas llectively to people who intify as lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr, queer (or those qutng their genr inty or sexual orientatn), tersex, and asexual.

Riley Griff's actor, Michael Taber, stated that he portrayed the character as gay and as "havg a thg" for Chase Randall. Monty's actor, Caleb Bend, stated that he portrayed the character as gay and as havg a csh on Victor Vcent.

↑ 'Power Rangers' Gay Character Storyle: Yellow Ranger Plot Explaed | Hollywood Reporter Tri om the movie.

ORIGAL BLUE POWER RANGER DAVID YOST ON GAY REPRENTATN NETFLIX'S POWER RANGERS RNN SPECIAL

Last year's Star Trek Beyond and Inpennce Day: Rurgence both featured gay characters, and last weekend's Bety and the Beast famoly featured an "exclively gay moment" for supportg character Lefou (played by Josh Gad). Somehow 's 2017 and the film marks the first-ever superhero movie to feature a gay protagonist character. In the origal Power Rangers seri, Tri was portrayed as straight, but the change is fely receivg posive example, the origal Blue Ranger actor David Yost was openly gay when he took on the role, but end up leavg the seri the late '90s after facg harassment over his sexual orientatn.

'POWER RANGERS' REBOOT FEATUR THE FIRST OPENLY GAY MOVIE SUPERHERO CHARACTER

The only superhero that me even close to reprentg non-heterosexualy was Marvel's antihero Deadpool, who intifi as pansexual (however, he never had any non-heterosexual experienc the film) of the Power Rangers LGBT reprentatn  on the heels of Disney featurg s first-ever gay character  the live-actn remake of Bety and the Beast.

Dpe unniably big steps the right directn, there remas a gap between the reprentatn of heterosexual characters and relatnships vers gay, bisexual, or trans characters beg shown on screen. Even Disney is fally gettg on the act, troducg Le Fou as beg gay the new Bety and the Beast. David Yost was the origal Blue Ranger, and openly gay.

Warng: The article ntas referenc to homophobia and suici. David Yost, who played Billy, the Blue Ranger, knew he was gay while workg on the show and had to take preutns to make sure no one would fd out. “I said I’m not gonna be gay, I’m gonna foc on my reer.

'POWER RANGERS' MOVIE INTRODUC GAY SUPERHERO PLAYED BY BECKY G: 'I'M PROUD SHE IS SUCH A STRONG CHARACTER'

Yost rells overhearg producers and -stars watchg footage of him and throwg out homophobic slurs. The emotnal toll Yost alt wh exemplifi what was like for many gay people Hollywood at the time.

“Everybody thks everybody Hollywood is accepted and s great to be gay.

That homophobia me to a head durg productn of the show’s fourth season, Power Rangers Zeo. It was a major step down for the character and Yost feels was part bee many the productn staff believed that bee he was gay he uldn’t be a superhero. ” However, durg a panel at Power Morphin 2012, Pagter played d clips om behd the scen on the show cludg one that featured a homophobic slur.

POWER RANGERS INTRODUC FIRST BIG SCREEN GAY SUPERHERO

The harassment Yost faced sent him to a eper darkns and he spent many years tryg to “get rid of” his sexualy, cludg many versns of the horrific “Pray the Gay Away.

While gay character and relatnships, nor a gay actor like Yost, weren’t acceptable on the seri, straight characters and relatnships were. Marchand, who was an out lbian at the time, and the other wrers knew a gay Ranger was never a possibily at the time but 2004’s Power Rangers Do Thunr they troduced Hayley, the team’s rint tech expert.

We were startg to thk, uld we, any pacy, troduce a gay character on this show? In an terview wh Den of Geek, Marchand crg at the memory, parg to the famo Hays Co of early Hollywood that effectively banned direct reference or posive portrayal of gay characters films outsi of ep subtext. The memory also provok great tratn om Marchand who knew that many executiv at Disney durg that time were gay but, “ jt wouldn’t have flown.

‘POWER RANGERS’ MAK BLOCKBTER HISTORY WH FIRST GAY SUPERHERO

Acrdg to Bend there ially wasn’t any reactn to him playg Monty as gay sce was “obv” to anyone who’d read the script. Bend is key to strs that Monty beg gay was only his terpretatn for the character, he never would have openly nfsed his love for Victor. Director (and now current executive producer) Simon Bent nfirmed to Den of Geek that the gay relatnship was never implied the script.

While all of the directiv were tryg to be put place to curtail Bend’s performance he learned that this wasn’t the first time the topic of a gay character had e up recent years. He’d been told by people workg on the show for years that durg velopment people behd the scen had wanted and been phg for a gay character.

'POWER RANGERS' GAY CHARACTER: HERE'S HOW BECKY G'S CHARACTER ADDRS HER SEXUALY

Addnally, Michael Taber, who played the character of Riley Power Rangers Do Charge om 2015-2016, revealed 2020 that he terpreted and played his part as gay.

POWER RANGERS' GAY MOMENT IS A GOOD STEP, BUT A SMALL ONE

What mak this suatn all the stranger was that all of this was takg place at the same time that work was beg done on the 2017 Power Rangers film, which clud a gay character, although one that wasn’t out.

MALAYSIA WILL NOT CENSOR ‘POWER RANGERS’ BEE OF GAY CHARACTER

“Anythg that I make, I want those gay storyl. I don’t want to be like ‘the gay character.

’ I want to be a world where the characters are gay and this is their life. Comics was another area which Power Rangers uld have add gay characters.