Contents:
- ALYCIA DEBNAM-REY B, BOYIEND, AGE, HEIGHT, DATG, IS SHE GAY OR LBIAN?
- MELISSA LEONUPDATED JUL. 12, 2017 6:55PM EDT / PUBLISHED MAR. 31, 2016 1:33AM EDT BUCHAN/VARIETY/REX/SHUTTERSTOCKIT TAK A SPECIAL KD OF WOMAN, LIKE 23-YEAR-OLD ALYCIA DEBNAM-CAREY, TO FE A PROMISG REER OUT OF HUMANY’S DARKT FEAR: EXTCTN.AS THE FIERCE LEXA ON CW’S THE 100, SHE MAND A CLAN OF WARRRS A WORLD RAVAGED BY A NUCLEAR APOLYPSE. AND ON AMC’S FEAR THE WALKG DEAD, WHOSE SEND SEASON PREMIERE IS NEXT SUNDAY, HER CHARACTER ALICIA IS ONE OF FEW TO SURVIVE THE EARLY DAYS OF THE ZOMBIE VIS OUTBREAK LOS ANGEL. BUT WHILE DEBNAM-CAREY TAK LLS OM REPORTERS TO PROMOTE FEAR’S SEND SEASON, ’S THE FALE OF HER ARC ON THE 100 SHE KEEPS G BACK TO.FOUR WEEKS AGO ON THE CW’S CULT H DRAMA, LEXA, A BELOVED LBIAN CHARACTER, WAS KILLED BY A STRAY BULLET, FIRED BY AN ANGRY SERVANT WHO HAD MEANT TO KILL SOMEONE ELSE. THAT THIS ATH ME JT SENDS AFTER LEXA HAD NSUMMATED HER ROMANCE WH CLARKE, ANOTHER CLAN LEAR, PROMPTED OUTCRY OM FANS ACCG THE SHOW OF GIVG TO A TV CLICHé WHICH LBIAN OR BISEXUAL CHARACTERS ARE KILLED, OFTEN AFTER EXPERIENCG A MOMENT OF ENLIGHTENMENT OR HAPPS. (THE TROPE IS OFTEN LLED BURY YOUR GAYS OR DEAD LBIAN SYNDROME.) THE 100 SHOWNNER JASON ROTHENBERG’S WEEKS-LONG SILENCE ON THE ISSUE, BED WH THE BETRAYAL FANS FELT AT WHAT THEY PERCEIVED TO BE A MEANGLS ATH FOR ONE OF TV’S FEW WELL-VELOPED LBIAN CHARACTERS (WHOM ROTHENBERG HAD LED FANS TO BELIEVE WOULD BE ALIVE AND WELL AT SEASON’S END), CED A KD OF REVOLT.THE EPISO THAT AIRED THE WEEK AFTER LEXA’S ATH WAS THE LOWT-RATED SERI HISTORY—RATHER THAN WATCH, FANS GOT #LGBTFANSSERVEBETTER TO TREND ON TWTER DURG THE 100’S TIME SLOT. ROTHENBERG HAS LOST THOANDS OF TWTER FOLLOWERS, WHILE SOME HAVE STRATEGIZED WAYS OF RCG THE SHOW’S TENSELY FAN-DRIVEN PRENCE ON SOCIAL MEDIA. NOW, RETROSPECT, ROTHENBERG SAYS HE “WOULD HAVE DONE SOME THGS DIFFERENTLY,” LIKE DISTANCG CLARKE AND LEXA’S SEX SCENE OM HER ATH AND NOT TOUTG THEIR RELATNSHIP WH MISLEADG OPTIMISM ON SOCIAL MEDIA.IN AN SAY ON THE TOPIC, TV CRIC MREEN RYAN PUT FANS’ RPONSE NTEXT, WRG: “THIS IS NOT A LL FOR SHOWNNERS TO PANR TO THEIR DIENC—FAR OM . IT’S A REMR THAT EVERY STORY TURN AND PROMOTNAL EFFORT SHOULD BE THOROUGHLY THOUGHT THROUGH. SLOPPY, DISMISSIVE AND T-EARED MOV BY A SHOW OR S PERSONNEL AREN’T EASY TO BURY OR IGNORE THE DAYS, AND FAN ENGAGEMENT IS A LLABORATN, NOT A SPIGOT TO BE TURNED OFF WHENEVER THGS GET NVENIENT.”DEBNAM-CAREY, FOR HER PART, SAYS SHE UNRSTANDS FANS’ LL TO ACTN—THOUGH SHE ADMS THEIR IMPASSNED REACTNS TO HER CHARACTER’S ATH UGHT HER OFF GUARD.“A SOCIAL AND CULTURAL ISSUE EXPOSED SELF WH THAT EPISO,” SHE SAYS. “I DON’T THK ANYONE [ON THE SHOW] REALLY QUE EXPECTED THAT REACTN. SO WHEN DID HAVE SUCH A STRONG AND PASSNATE BACKFIRE RPONSE, NO ONE WAS REALLY READY FOR .“WH ANY SORT OF MORY, ISSU OF OSTRACIZATN OR MISREPRENTATN ARE CLEARLY RAMPANT,” THE ACTRS NTU. “IT’S JT SO EPLY ROOTED OUR CULTURE AND THERE ARE SO MANY LEVELS THAT TRICKL DOWN OM. IT BE AN ISSUE OF DIVERSY AND EQUALY AND RACE AND GENR. IN A PARALLEL SENSE AS WELL, THERE’S THE ISSUE OF BLACK CHARACTERS BEG KILLED OFF FIRST. I KNOW THAT’S BEEN A TOPIC OF NVERSATN OVER THE LAST UPLE OF YEARS. SO THE ARE HUGE-SLE CULTURAL AND SOCIAL BARRIERS THAT WE’VE TABLISHED—AND I GUS NOW ’S TIME TO START BREAKG THEM DOWN.”THOUGH DEBNAM-CAREY SAYS IS “HORRIBLE TO THK PEOPLE WERE OBVLY VERY TLY AFFECTED BY [LEXA’S ATH], NEGATIVELY,” SHE’S PROUD OF THE WAY MANY FANS HAVE CHANNELED THEIR ENERGI TO RAISG $100,000 (AND UNTG) FOR THE TREVOR PROJECT, A SUICI PREVENTN SERVICE FOR LGBT YOUTH.“I N’T EVEN FATHOM THAT. THAT’S CREDIBLE,” SHE SAYS. “JT TO THK THAT HAD SUCH AN IMPACT ON PEOPLE. IT’S KD OF AN HONOR. IT BEME A POSIVE THG, WHICH IS REALLY THE MOST IMPORTANT THG ABOUT ALL.”NOW THAT SHE’S SAID GOODBYE TO LEXA, DEBNAM-CAREY—AN AMIABLE ATRALIAN WHO GOT HER START ON THE SHOWBIZ DOCERI NEXT STOP HOLLYWOOD—IS EAGER TO SHOW OFF HER ZOMBIE-SLAYG SKILLS THE SEND SEASON OF FEAR THE WALKG DEAD. RATHER THAN POST-APOLYPSE, HER CHARACTER ALICIA FIGHTS TO SURVIVE MID-APOLYPSE, JT AS THE ZOMBIE VIS HAS OVERWHELMED LOS ANGEL. IN LAST YEAR’S SEASON 1 FALE, ALICIA AND HER FAY BOARD THE YACHT OF A MYSTER FELLOW SURVIVOR TO PE THE CY—THOUGH AS THEY QUICKLY LEARN, BEG OUT ON THE OCEAN DON’T MEAN WALKERS WON’T FOLLOW. LADI AND GENTLEMEN, PLEASE WELE SEA ZOMBI TO THE SCREEN.DEBNAM-CAREY’S SEND GO-ROUND AT THE APOLYPSE ME WH THE PERKS OF EXPERIENCE, SHE SAYS. “I THK I ME TO KNOWG WHAT TO EXPECT, WHICH IS TO BE QUE DIRTY AND PROBABLY WET MOST OF THE TIME,” SHE LGHS. “IT’S CERTALY A FUN GENRE TO BE A PART OF. THERE’S NEVER A DULL MOMENT.”WHILE ALICIA, A TEENAGER A MIXED, MIDDLE-CLASS FAY WHO’S ALREADY HAD TO SAY GOODBYE TO ONE LOVED ONE, A BOYIEND, IS ABOUT AS APT AT EMERGENCY SURVIVAL AS THE AVERAGE AMERIN—“I WOULD BE AD , LIKE, 20 MUT”—DEBNAM-CAREY HAS HIGH HOP FOR TURNG HER CHARACTER TO THE KD OF WARRR SEEN ON FEAR’S SISTER SHOW, THE WALKG DEAD.“I WILL SAY THAT THERE WAS A WEAPON THAT WAS PLANTED ONE OF THE [SEASON 2] EPISOS THAT I WAS GIVEN, A SWCHBLA,” SHE SAYS. “AND THEN THE NEXT EPISO WAS TAKEN OM HER. AND I WAS LIKE, ‘NO, YOU N’T TAKE THIS, THAT’S LIKE, HER WEAPON NOW!’“‘WE WEREN’T TABLISHG AS THAT,’” SHE SAYS, PLAY-MIMICKG A SHOW WRER’S VOICE. “AND I WAS LIKE, ‘NO, NO, HAS TO BE.’ I WAS JT FASCATED BY G AND PLAYG WH , AND ALL THE STUNT GUYS WERE TEACHG ME TRICKS ON HOW TO E . SO I BEME ATTACHED TO VERY QUICKLY AND WAS LIKE, PLEASE WORK TO THE SCRIPT!... I WENT ON YOUTUBE AND SAW VIOS OF ANGELA JOLIE ON SOME TALK SHOW SHOWG PEOPLE SWCHBLA TRICKS AND I WAS LIKE, ‘THAT’S WHAT I WANT TO DO.’”ESPECIALLY PARED TO THE FEARSOME LEXA, ALICIA IS A MORE TSTG AND PASSNATE SURVIVOR—MORE LIKELY TO TRY TO RCUE A STRANGER A SKG BOAT THAN QUTN HIS MOTIV AND LEAVE HIM TO DIE, AS THE FAY AROUND HER WOULD PREFER. BUT AS SOCIETY FALLS APART AND THE WORLD SCENDS TO VLENCE, THAT WILL LIKELY CHANGE.“I THK SHE STILL HAS A HOPE THAT THIS [CRISIS] IS FLEETG AND THAT FDG NNECTNS WH PEOPLE IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THG,” DEBNAM-CAREY SAYS OF ALICIA. “OTHERS HAVE A DIFFERENT VIEWPOT AND ARE STARTG TO E TO TERMS WH THE TE REALY OF THE SUATN. SO FOR A WHILE, ALICIA STGGL WH THE IA OF WHAT TLY MATTERS, WHETHER ’S NURTURE AND PASSN OR PRAGMATISM AND RATNALY.“I FEEL LIKE SHE MIGHT BE POISED EVENTUALLY TO BEE A B OF A WARRR, BUT I REALLY DON’T KNOW AT THIS POT,” SHE SAYS.SHE MIGHT—AS LONG AS NO STRAY BULLET CROSS HER PATH. MELISSA LEON
ALYCIA DEBNAM-REY B, BOYIEND, AGE, HEIGHT, DATG, IS SHE GAY OR LBIAN?
When Lexa was killed shortly after she slept wh Clarke for the first time, many viewers thought that the plot was homophobic. Atralian actrs Alycia Debnam-Carey as Lexa The CW NetworkFans om the LGBTQI (lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr, queer and tersex) muny (and their iends and supporters) see the ath evince of a trend on televisn to treat non-hetero characters as dispensable.
She's the Atralian actrs makg wav Hollywood thanks to rol AMC's Fear The Walkg Dead and The CW's teen sci-fi seri The Alycia Debnam-Carey is now the center of a social media storm after the lbian character she plays on The 100 was killed off, upsettg members of the LGBTQI (lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr, queer and tersex) muny.
In character: In late 2014 Alycia sred a role on Fear The Walkg Dead after performanc Into The Storm and The Devils Hand - pictured here on The 100 Last month Alycia was the centre of a social media storm after the lbian character she plays on The 100 was killed off, upsettg members of the LGBTQI (lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr, queer and tersex) muny. (Friend)Is she gay or lbian? Is she gay or lbian?
MELISSA LEONUPDATED JUL. 12, 2017 6:55PM EDT / PUBLISHED MAR. 31, 2016 1:33AM EDT BUCHAN/VARIETY/REX/SHUTTERSTOCKIT TAK A SPECIAL KD OF WOMAN, LIKE 23-YEAR-OLD ALYCIA DEBNAM-CAREY, TO FE A PROMISG REER OUT OF HUMANY’S DARKT FEAR: EXTCTN.AS THE FIERCE LEXA ON CW’S THE 100, SHE MAND A CLAN OF WARRRS A WORLD RAVAGED BY A NUCLEAR APOLYPSE. AND ON AMC’S FEAR THE WALKG DEAD, WHOSE SEND SEASON PREMIERE IS NEXT SUNDAY, HER CHARACTER ALICIA IS ONE OF FEW TO SURVIVE THE EARLY DAYS OF THE ZOMBIE VIS OUTBREAK LOS ANGEL. BUT WHILE DEBNAM-CAREY TAK LLS OM REPORTERS TO PROMOTE FEAR’S SEND SEASON, ’S THE FALE OF HER ARC ON THE 100 SHE KEEPS G BACK TO.FOUR WEEKS AGO ON THE CW’S CULT H DRAMA, LEXA, A BELOVED LBIAN CHARACTER, WAS KILLED BY A STRAY BULLET, FIRED BY AN ANGRY SERVANT WHO HAD MEANT TO KILL SOMEONE ELSE. THAT THIS ATH ME JT SENDS AFTER LEXA HAD NSUMMATED HER ROMANCE WH CLARKE, ANOTHER CLAN LEAR, PROMPTED OUTCRY OM FANS ACCG THE SHOW OF GIVG TO A TV CLICHé WHICH LBIAN OR BISEXUAL CHARACTERS ARE KILLED, OFTEN AFTER EXPERIENCG A MOMENT OF ENLIGHTENMENT OR HAPPS. (THE TROPE IS OFTEN LLED BURY YOUR GAYS OR DEAD LBIAN SYNDROME.) THE 100 SHOWNNER JASON ROTHENBERG’S WEEKS-LONG SILENCE ON THE ISSUE, BED WH THE BETRAYAL FANS FELT AT WHAT THEY PERCEIVED TO BE A MEANGLS ATH FOR ONE OF TV’S FEW WELL-VELOPED LBIAN CHARACTERS (WHOM ROTHENBERG HAD LED FANS TO BELIEVE WOULD BE ALIVE AND WELL AT SEASON’S END), CED A KD OF REVOLT.THE EPISO THAT AIRED THE WEEK AFTER LEXA’S ATH WAS THE LOWT-RATED SERI HISTORY—RATHER THAN WATCH, FANS GOT #LGBTFANSSERVEBETTER TO TREND ON TWTER DURG THE 100’S TIME SLOT. ROTHENBERG HAS LOST THOANDS OF TWTER FOLLOWERS, WHILE SOME HAVE STRATEGIZED WAYS OF RCG THE SHOW’S TENSELY FAN-DRIVEN PRENCE ON SOCIAL MEDIA. NOW, RETROSPECT, ROTHENBERG SAYS HE “WOULD HAVE DONE SOME THGS DIFFERENTLY,” LIKE DISTANCG CLARKE AND LEXA’S SEX SCENE OM HER ATH AND NOT TOUTG THEIR RELATNSHIP WH MISLEADG OPTIMISM ON SOCIAL MEDIA.IN AN SAY ON THE TOPIC, TV CRIC MREEN RYAN PUT FANS’ RPONSE NTEXT, WRG: “THIS IS NOT A LL FOR SHOWNNERS TO PANR TO THEIR DIENC—FAR OM . IT’S A REMR THAT EVERY STORY TURN AND PROMOTNAL EFFORT SHOULD BE THOROUGHLY THOUGHT THROUGH. SLOPPY, DISMISSIVE AND T-EARED MOV BY A SHOW OR S PERSONNEL AREN’T EASY TO BURY OR IGNORE THE DAYS, AND FAN ENGAGEMENT IS A LLABORATN, NOT A SPIGOT TO BE TURNED OFF WHENEVER THGS GET NVENIENT.”DEBNAM-CAREY, FOR HER PART, SAYS SHE UNRSTANDS FANS’ LL TO ACTN—THOUGH SHE ADMS THEIR IMPASSNED REACTNS TO HER CHARACTER’S ATH UGHT HER OFF GUARD.“A SOCIAL AND CULTURAL ISSUE EXPOSED SELF WH THAT EPISO,” SHE SAYS. “I DON’T THK ANYONE [ON THE SHOW] REALLY QUE EXPECTED THAT REACTN. SO WHEN DID HAVE SUCH A STRONG AND PASSNATE BACKFIRE RPONSE, NO ONE WAS REALLY READY FOR .“WH ANY SORT OF MORY, ISSU OF OSTRACIZATN OR MISREPRENTATN ARE CLEARLY RAMPANT,” THE ACTRS NTU. “IT’S JT SO EPLY ROOTED OUR CULTURE AND THERE ARE SO MANY LEVELS THAT TRICKL DOWN OM. IT BE AN ISSUE OF DIVERSY AND EQUALY AND RACE AND GENR. IN A PARALLEL SENSE AS WELL, THERE’S THE ISSUE OF BLACK CHARACTERS BEG KILLED OFF FIRST. I KNOW THAT’S BEEN A TOPIC OF NVERSATN OVER THE LAST UPLE OF YEARS. SO THE ARE HUGE-SLE CULTURAL AND SOCIAL BARRIERS THAT WE’VE TABLISHED—AND I GUS NOW ’S TIME TO START BREAKG THEM DOWN.”THOUGH DEBNAM-CAREY SAYS IS “HORRIBLE TO THK PEOPLE WERE OBVLY VERY TLY AFFECTED BY [LEXA’S ATH], NEGATIVELY,” SHE’S PROUD OF THE WAY MANY FANS HAVE CHANNELED THEIR ENERGI TO RAISG $100,000 (AND UNTG) FOR THE TREVOR PROJECT, A SUICI PREVENTN SERVICE FOR LGBT YOUTH.“I N’T EVEN FATHOM THAT. THAT’S CREDIBLE,” SHE SAYS. “JT TO THK THAT HAD SUCH AN IMPACT ON PEOPLE. IT’S KD OF AN HONOR. IT BEME A POSIVE THG, WHICH IS REALLY THE MOST IMPORTANT THG ABOUT ALL.”NOW THAT SHE’S SAID GOODBYE TO LEXA, DEBNAM-CAREY—AN AMIABLE ATRALIAN WHO GOT HER START ON THE SHOWBIZ DOCERI NEXT STOP HOLLYWOOD—IS EAGER TO SHOW OFF HER ZOMBIE-SLAYG SKILLS THE SEND SEASON OF FEAR THE WALKG DEAD. RATHER THAN POST-APOLYPSE, HER CHARACTER ALICIA FIGHTS TO SURVIVE MID-APOLYPSE, JT AS THE ZOMBIE VIS HAS OVERWHELMED LOS ANGEL. IN LAST YEAR’S SEASON 1 FALE, ALICIA AND HER FAY BOARD THE YACHT OF A MYSTER FELLOW SURVIVOR TO PE THE CY—THOUGH AS THEY QUICKLY LEARN, BEG OUT ON THE OCEAN DON’T MEAN WALKERS WON’T FOLLOW. LADI AND GENTLEMEN, PLEASE WELE SEA ZOMBI TO THE SCREEN.DEBNAM-CAREY’S SEND GO-ROUND AT THE APOLYPSE ME WH THE PERKS OF EXPERIENCE, SHE SAYS. “I THK I ME TO KNOWG WHAT TO EXPECT, WHICH IS TO BE QUE DIRTY AND PROBABLY WET MOST OF THE TIME,” SHE LGHS. “IT’S CERTALY A FUN GENRE TO BE A PART OF. THERE’S NEVER A DULL MOMENT.”WHILE ALICIA, A TEENAGER A MIXED, MIDDLE-CLASS FAY WHO’S ALREADY HAD TO SAY GOODBYE TO ONE LOVED ONE, A BOYIEND, IS ABOUT AS APT AT EMERGENCY SURVIVAL AS THE AVERAGE AMERIN—“I WOULD BE AD , LIKE, 20 MUT”—DEBNAM-CAREY HAS HIGH HOP FOR TURNG HER CHARACTER TO THE KD OF WARRR SEEN ON FEAR’S SISTER SHOW, THE WALKG DEAD.“I WILL SAY THAT THERE WAS A WEAPON THAT WAS PLANTED ONE OF THE [SEASON 2] EPISOS THAT I WAS GIVEN, A SWCHBLA,” SHE SAYS. “AND THEN THE NEXT EPISO WAS TAKEN OM HER. AND I WAS LIKE, ‘NO, YOU N’T TAKE THIS, THAT’S LIKE, HER WEAPON NOW!’“‘WE WEREN’T TABLISHG AS THAT,’” SHE SAYS, PLAY-MIMICKG A SHOW WRER’S VOICE. “AND I WAS LIKE, ‘NO, NO, HAS TO BE.’ I WAS JT FASCATED BY G AND PLAYG WH , AND ALL THE STUNT GUYS WERE TEACHG ME TRICKS ON HOW TO E . SO I BEME ATTACHED TO VERY QUICKLY AND WAS LIKE, PLEASE WORK TO THE SCRIPT!... I WENT ON YOUTUBE AND SAW VIOS OF ANGELA JOLIE ON SOME TALK SHOW SHOWG PEOPLE SWCHBLA TRICKS AND I WAS LIKE, ‘THAT’S WHAT I WANT TO DO.’”ESPECIALLY PARED TO THE FEARSOME LEXA, ALICIA IS A MORE TSTG AND PASSNATE SURVIVOR—MORE LIKELY TO TRY TO RCUE A STRANGER A SKG BOAT THAN QUTN HIS MOTIV AND LEAVE HIM TO DIE, AS THE FAY AROUND HER WOULD PREFER. BUT AS SOCIETY FALLS APART AND THE WORLD SCENDS TO VLENCE, THAT WILL LIKELY CHANGE.“I THK SHE STILL HAS A HOPE THAT THIS [CRISIS] IS FLEETG AND THAT FDG NNECTNS WH PEOPLE IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THG,” DEBNAM-CAREY SAYS OF ALICIA. “OTHERS HAVE A DIFFERENT VIEWPOT AND ARE STARTG TO E TO TERMS WH THE TE REALY OF THE SUATN. SO FOR A WHILE, ALICIA STGGL WH THE IA OF WHAT TLY MATTERS, WHETHER ’S NURTURE AND PASSN OR PRAGMATISM AND RATNALY.“I FEEL LIKE SHE MIGHT BE POISED EVENTUALLY TO BEE A B OF A WARRR, BUT I REALLY DON’T KNOW AT THIS POT,” SHE SAYS.SHE MIGHT—AS LONG AS NO STRAY BULLET CROSS HER PATH. MELISSA LEON
Perhaps tomorrow, Alycia Debnam-Carey will announce to the world that she is gay, but as of the wrg of this article, Alycia is an entirely straight woman. (The trope is often lled Bury Your Gays or Dead Lbian Syndrome. GLAAD c rerd-high LGBTQ reprentatn s annual report on televisn diversy, but the media advocy group says that televisn “failed queer women” this year, killg off a staggerg number of lbian and bisexual female annual “Where We Are On TV” report has analyzed the prence of lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr and queer characters on prime-time broadst and ble televisn for more than two s.
But this year’s report c at least 12 lbian and bisexual female characters who have been killed off broadst shows sce January, and says more than 25 queer female characters have been killed across all platforms this report directly referenc the “Bury Your Gays” trope, a term activists ed this year while prottg the aths of lbian and bisexual characters, who often see vlent aths or meet tragic ends followg happy moments.