J is gay on 'The Walkg Dead.' Here’s why that matters.

Tom Payne's good-natured badass is now the show's third gay ma character. * is jesus from the walking dead gay *

In The Walkg Dead ics, he's gay. He's a badass, and he happens to be gay.

"While he isn't the first gay character to be featured on the AMC seri, J beg gay is still a big al for televisn 2017. Progrs has been ma, but gay characters still acunt for a small percentage of total TV rol, acrdg to the latt numbers om GLAAD's 2016 "Where We Are on TV" report.

The "bury your gays" trope beme a hot topic last year after The 100 ntroversially killed off a character named Lexa, shortly after her relatnship wh another female character was nsummated.

'THE WALKG DEAD' JT CONFIRMED THAT J IS GAY

Tom Payne's good-natured badass is the show's third gay ma character. * is jesus from the walking dead gay *

The Walkg Dead has also stggled to portray s only current gay relatnship between Alexandrians Aaron and Eric.

Payne said last year that he saw no reason why his on-screen J wouldn't be gay, as he is the ics, and tonight's episo "The Other Si, " he officially beme the show's third major gay character. Her girliend Denise (Merrt Wever) was ntroversially killed off what beme part of a troublg TV trend last year; an unwele rurgence of the "Bury Your Gays" trope which me to a head wh a profoundly ntroversial storyle on The CW's The 100. But the fact that this is now a show wh three gay characters s ma st matters.

Given his stat as a badass fan favore, his signifint role the ics and the bonds he's veloped wh several of the show's ma characters, the now-openly-gay J has the potential to bee genuely inic a way Aaron and Tara are not. Gay characters on televisn are no longer unmon, but gay male hero on actn-led genre shows are, and the fact that The Walkg Dead has an unually bipartisan fan base wh a strong Republin ntgent mak s sexual diversy all the more charged. "In my opn there should be more awome gay people fictn bee there are plenty of awome gay people real life, " Robert Kirkman, who created The Walkg Dead ics and is an EP on the show, said last year.

'THE WALKG DEAD' JT CONFIRMED THAT J IS GAY

"The Walkg Dead" fally nfirmed the character of J' sexualy on Sunday's episo. Hilltop Colony member J (Tom Payne) opened up that he was gay nversatn wh Maggie (Lren Cohan). * is jesus from the walking dead gay *

Her girliend Denise (Merrt Wever) was ntroversially killed off what beme part of a troublg TV trend last year; an unwele rurgence of the "Bury Your Gays" trope which me to a head wh a profoundly ntroversial storyle on The CW's The the fact that this is now a show wh three gay characters s ma st matters. But bee we are all human, the nversatn has now turned to sexualy, and the Inter was recently taken by storm by ments the actor ma about J potentially beg gay.

IS THE WALKG DEAD'S J GAY? HERE'S WHAT THOMAS PAYNE SAYS

The latt episo of The Walkg Dead nfirms that the character J is gay - see the spoilers om season 7 episo 14 here * is jesus from the walking dead gay *

Perhaps thgs were taken slightly out of ntext, though, as Payne said this when asked about havg suated J' homosexualy:Yeah, he's... But sce any attempts to take him down and get rmatn would jt lead to him bamboozlg and pg, we'll have to look to the show and givg his answer to TMZ, Thomas Payne mentns that J is gay the source material, which is ed the se.

Even though we know Daryl's not gay (at least officially), people still qutn , and the same will probably happen wh J if nothg five gets revealed soon.

But yeah, if we're worryg about whose bed J' boots are gog unr, at least that means we're not worryg about him gettg killed soon, which n't be said about the rerd, here's how Thomas Payne feels about if the world is ready for gay J. " While speakg wh Maggie (Lren Cohan) at the Hilltop before the Savrs make another unexpected hoe ll, J reveals he's gay.

'THE WALKG DEAD' FALLY CONFIRMED J’S SEXUALYTV J AND COMICS J ARE ONE AND THE {FONT:NORMAL 800 1.2REM/1.25 "GRAVY",SANS-SERIF;TEXT-TRANSFORM:NONE;LOR:HER;DISPLAY:LE-BLOCK;PADDG-BOTTOM:6PX;POSN:RELATIVE;TEXT-TRANSFORM:UPPERSE;}{BACKGROUND:#FFFFFF;BOTTOM:0;NTENT:'';DISPLAY:BLOCK;HEIGHT:2PX;LEFT:0;POSN:ABSOLUTE;RIGHT:0;-WEBK-TRANSN:ALL 0.2S EASE;TRANSN:ALL 0.2S EASE;WIDTH:100%;}{LEFT:51%;RIGHT:51%;WIDTH:0;}{FONT:NORMAL 800 1.2REM/1.25 "GRAVY",SANS-SERIF;TEXT-TRANSFORM:NONE;LOR:HER;DISPLAY:LE-BLOCK;PADDG-BOTTOM:6PX;POSN:RELATIVE;TEXT-TRANSFORM:UPPERSE;}{BACKGROUND:#FFFFFF;BOTTOM:0;NTENT:'';DISPLAY:BLOCK;HEIGHT:2PX;LEFT:0;POSN:ABSOLUTE;RIGHT:0;-WEBK-TRANSN:ALL 0.2S EASE;TRANSN:ALL 0.2S EASE;WIDTH:100%;}{LEFT:51%;RIGHT:51%;WIDTH:0;}TVBY STACEY GRANTMARCH 20, 2017/11:39 {HEIGHT:HER;DISPLAY:-WEBK-BOX;DISPLAY:-WEBK-FLEX;DISPLAY:-MS-FLEXBOX;DISPLAY:FLEX;POSN:RELATIVE;-WEBK-FLEX-WRAP:WRAP;-MS-FLEX-WRAP:WRAP;FLEX-WRAP:WRAP;-WEBK-ALIGN-EMS:CENTER;-WEBK-BOX-ALIGN:CENTER;-MS-FLEX-ALIGN:CENTER;ALIGN-EMS:CENTER;-WEBK-BOX-PACK:CENTER;-WEBK-JTIFY-NTENT:CENTER;-MS-FLEX-PACK:CENTER;JTIFY-NTENT:CENTER;-WEBK-TRANSFORM-ORIG:CENTER;-MS-TRANSFORM-ORIG:CENTER;TRANSFORM-ORIG:CENTER;} IMG{HEIGHT:100%;WIDTH:100%;OBJECT-F:VER;}{HEIGHT:574PX;WIDTH:1020PX;}GENE PAGE/AMCTOM PAYNE AS PL 'J' ROVIA, LREN COHAN AS MAGGIE GREENE - THE WALKG DEAD _ SEASON 7, EPISO 13 - PHOTO CRED: GENE PAGE/AMCBY STACEY GRANTMARCH 20, 2017 / 11:39 AM{"@NTEXT":","@TYPE":"NEWSARTICLE","HEADLE":"'THE WALKG DEAD' FALLY CONFIRMED J’S SEXUALY","THUMBNAILURL":","DATEPUBLISHED":"2017-03-20T15:39:46.000+0000","DATEMODIFIED":"2017-03-20T15:39:46.000+0000","IMAGE":{"@NTEXT":","@TYPE":"IMAGEOBJECT","URL":","WIDTH":1920,"HEIGHT":1080},"URL":","THOR":{"@TYPE":"ORGANIZATN","NAME":"MTV"},"MAENTYOFPAGE":{"@TYPE":"WEBPAGE","@ID":"},"PUBLISHER":{"@TYPE":"ORGANIZATN","@ID":","NAME":"MTV","URL":","LOGO":{"@TYPE":"IMAGEOBJECT","URL":","WIDTH":1280,"HEIGHT":720}},"CREATOR":"STACEY GRANT","ARTICLESECTN":"TV"}{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#F3F3F3;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}THE NEWT WALKG DEAD EPISO FOCED ON GIRLS ATTACKG THE PATRIARCHY, BUT THERE WAS ONE IMPORTANT MOMENT YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED BEFORE THE SH H THE {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#F3F3F3;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}FANS HAVE BEEN WAG FOR J (TOM PAYNE) TO REVEAL ON THE TV SERI THAT HIS SEXUALY IS THE SAME AS IS THE ICS, AND SUNDAY NIGHT (MARCH 19), WE FALLY GOT OUR NFIRMATN "THE OTHER SI." WHILE SPEAKG WH MAGGIE (LREN COHAN) AT THE HILLTOP BEFORE THE SAVRS MAKE ANOTHER UNEXPECTED HOE LL, J REVEALS HE'S {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#F3F3F3;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}DISCSG HIS NEW POST-APOLYPSE HOME, J STAT, "WHEN I WAS FIRST HERE, I WAS NEVER HERE. I ALWAYS FOUND HARD GETTG CLOSE TO ANYONE: NEIGHBORS, IENDS, BOYIENDS." MAGGIE TELLS HER IEND, "YOU SHOULD TRY SOME TIME, EVEN IF DON’T LAST."GENE PAGE/AMCTHE WALKG {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#F3F3F3;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}THE WALKG DEAD HAS A HISTORY OF LGBT CHARACTERS, LIKE TARA (ALANNA MASTERSON) AND UPLE AARON (ROSS MARQUAND) AND ERIC (JORDAN WOODS-ROBSON), BUT AS WH THEM, J IS "SO MUCH MORE THAN HIS SEXUALY, JT LIKE PEOPLE ARE REAL LIFE," WALKG DEAD BOSS ROBERT KIRKMAN TOLD ENTERTAMENT TONIGHT. LIKE PAYNE SAID EARLIER THIS YEAR, "LISTEN, 'S THE END OF THE WORLD. DO YOU REALLY THK WE'RE GOG TO BE WORRIED ABOUT THGS LIKE THAT?"{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;CLEAR:BOTH;}{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;MARG:0 TO;WIDTH:90%;M-WIDTH:288PX;MAX-WIDTH:1440PX;M-HEIGHT:194PX;}LATT NEWS

If you ask a ic rear about J, they'll be quick to pot out that he - like Aaron and Eric - is an openly gay character.

"In the past, Robert Kirkman has also nfirmed that J is fely gay on the show, jt hasn't been officially addrsed this week's episo is featurg the characters of The Hilltop, 's likely J will be around. Yup, J (Tom Payne) is gay. " That's bee he didn't need to have one; fans who really know their Walkg Dead know that J -- real name Pl Rovia -- is gay the ic books.

His extensive creds clu “My Fair Lady” at Olney Theatre, a Helen Hay nomated turn as a gay teen “Girliend” at Signature Theatre, the tle role “Bat Boy” at 1st Stage, and most recently a part Signature Theatre’s “Sweeney Todd. Openly gay, he still found difficulty relatnships wh boyiends. Tom Payne on J possibly beg gay on the show: "What I fd tertg om the ics is that 's not a big al.

IS J GAY IN THE WALKG DEAD COMICS?

Robert Kirkman nfirmed Letterhacks #164 that J is ed gay on the show. This mak him the sixth LGBT character alongsi Tara, Alisha, Aaron, Eric, and Denise beg the third known gay male. The latt episo of The Walkg Dead nfirms that the character J is gay.

In the origal Walkg Dead ic books created by Robert Kirkman, J is wrten as gay – however his sexualy was yet to be addrsed by the TV adaptatn, until now. Season 7 episo 14 se Hilltop Colony member J, played by Tom Payne, e out as gay durg a nversatn wh character Maggie. He’s a badass and he happens to be gay.

THE WALKG DEAD'S TOM PAYNE ON WHY NOBODY SHOULD CARE J IS GAY

In a chat wh Maggie, J mentned past boyiends, revealg to Maggie (and viewers) that's he's gay. Earlier episos hadn't really given any hts to J' sexualy, but some fans had an ia that he might be gay.

J is openly gay the Walkg Dead ics, so rears already knew that the show might take him that directn. They didn't need knowledge that J is gay really isn't gog to change the urse of The Walkg Dead the foreeable future.

He's not the first gay character on the show, and his sexualy isn't his fg characteristic. J is not the first openly gay character on The Walkg Dead, but he is the first one we’ve met that hasn’t been attached.

J OM ‘THE WALKG DEAD’ OUT AS GAY

Robert Kirkman has downplayed the fact that J is gay.

Late Season 7, fans of The Walkg Dead TV seri learned what many ic fans had known for que some time: J is gay. When Tom Payne ma his but on The Walkg Dead last season as J, fans wonred if the character would be gay like he is the origal ic book seri.

LATT EPISO OF ‘THE WALKG DEAD’ NFIRMS MA CHARACTER AS GAY

He went on to say that 's been difficult for him to get close to anyone, cludg "neighbors, iends, boyiends, " wh Maggie tellg him he should try some Walkg Dead now has three gay characters s ma st, a signifint number for an actn-led seri wh a large fan base of both liberal and nservative viewers.

"THE WALKG DEAD": J IS GAY!THE SHOW NOW BOASTS THREE OPENLY GAY CHARACTERS. {FONT:NORMAL 800 1.2REM/1.2 "D BOLD",SANS-SERIF;TEXT-TRANSFORM:NORMAL;LOR:HER;DISPLAY:LE-BLOCK;PADDG-BOTTOM:6PX;POSN:RELATIVE;TEXT-TRANSFORM:UPPERSE;}{BACKGROUND:#89308A;BOTTOM:0;NTENT:'';DISPLAY:BLOCK;HEIGHT:2PX;LEFT:0;POSN:ABSOLUTE;RIGHT:0;-WEBK-TRANSN:ALL 0.2S EASE;TRANSN:ALL 0.2S EASE;WIDTH:100%;}{LEFT:51%;RIGHT:51%;WIDTH:0;}{FONT:NORMAL 800 1.2REM/1.2 "D BOLD",SANS-SERIF;TEXT-TRANSFORM:NORMAL;LOR:HER;DISPLAY:LE-BLOCK;PADDG-BOTTOM:6PX;POSN:RELATIVE;TEXT-TRANSFORM:UPPERSE;}{BACKGROUND:#89308A;BOTTOM:0;NTENT:'';DISPLAY:BLOCK;HEIGHT:2PX;LEFT:0;POSN:ABSOLUTE;RIGHT:0;-WEBK-TRANSN:ALL 0.2S EASE;TRANSN:ALL 0.2S EASE;WIDTH:100%;}{LEFT:51%;RIGHT:51%;WIDTH:0;}TVBY CODY GOHLMARCH 20, 2017/9:25 {HEIGHT:HER;DISPLAY:-WEBK-BOX;DISPLAY:-WEBK-FLEX;DISPLAY:-MS-FLEXBOX;DISPLAY:FLEX;POSN:RELATIVE;-WEBK-FLEX-WRAP:WRAP;-MS-FLEX-WRAP:WRAP;FLEX-WRAP:WRAP;-WEBK-ALIGN-EMS:CENTER;-WEBK-BOX-ALIGN:CENTER;-MS-FLEX-ALIGN:CENTER;ALIGN-EMS:CENTER;-WEBK-BOX-PACK:CENTER;-WEBK-JTIFY-NTENT:CENTER;-MS-FLEX-PACK:CENTER;JTIFY-NTENT:CENTER;-WEBK-TRANSFORM-ORIG:CENTER;-MS-TRANSFORM-ORIG:CENTER;TRANSFORM-ORIG:CENTER;} IMG{HEIGHT:100%;WIDTH:100%;OBJECT-F:VER;}{HEIGHT:574PX;WIDTH:1020PX;}AMCBY CODY GOHLMARCH 20, 2017 / 9:25 AM{"@NTEXT":","@TYPE":"NEWSARTICLE","HEADLE":"\"THE WALKG DEAD\": J IS GAY!","THUMBNAILURL":","DATEPUBLISHED":"2017-03-20T13:25:19.000+0000","DATEMODIFIED":"2017-03-20T13:25:19.000+0000","IMAGE":{"@NTEXT":","@TYPE":"IMAGEOBJECT","URL":","WIDTH":1920,"HEIGHT":1080},"URL":","THOR":{"@TYPE":"ORGANIZATN","NAME":"LOGO TV"},"MAENTYOFPAGE":{"@TYPE":"WEBPAGE","@ID":"},"PUBLISHER":{"@TYPE":"ORGANIZATN","@ID":","NAME":"LOGO TV","URL":","LOGO":{"@TYPE":"IMAGEOBJECT"}},"CREATOR":"CODY GOHL","ARTICLESECTN":"TV"}{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}PRAISE J HALLELUJAH—THE WALKG DEAD'S GOOD-NATURED REBEL J HAS OFFICIALLY E OUT!{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;DISPLAY:-WEBK-BOX;DISPLAY:-WEBK-FLEX;DISPLAY:-MS-FLEXBOX;DISPLAY:FLEX;-WEBK-BOX-PACK:CENTER;-WEBK-JTIFY-NTENT:CENTER;-MS-FLEX-PACK:CENTER;JTIFY-NTENT:CENTER;} .TWTER-TWEET-RENRED, {M-WIDTH:65%;WIDTH:TO !IMPORTANT;} {WIDTH:100%;} {MARG-LEFT:TO !IMPORTANT;MARG-RIGHT:TO !IMPORTANT;} IMG{MAX-WIDTH:100%;WIDTH:100%;} > IAME{BORR:NONE;MAX-WIDTH:100%;} > *{MAX-WIDTH:NONE !IMPORTANT;}{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}WHEN TOM PAYNE MA HIS BUT ON THE WALKG DEAD LAST SEASON AS J, FANS WONRED IF THE CHARACTER WOULD BE GAY LIKE HE IS THE ORIGAL IC BOOK SERI. AFTER DODGG THE QUTN FOR A YEAR, THE SHOW FALLY NFIRMED HIS SEXUALY LAST NIGHT'S EPISO "THE OTHER SI."{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}THE MOMENT OCCURRED A NVERSATN BETWEEN THE ELIVE HERO AND MAGGIE. DURG THEIR TALK, J REVEALED THAT HE GREW UP A GROUP HOME AND HAS ALWAYS HAD PROBLEMS FEELG LIKE HE BELONG ANYWHERE. HE WENT ON TO SAY THAT 'S BEEN DIFFICULT FOR HIM TO GET CLOSE TO ANYONE, CLUDG "NEIGHBORS, IENDS, BOYIENDS," WH MAGGIE TELLG HIM HE SHOULD TRY SOME TIME.AMCLREN COHAN AS MAGGIE GREENE, TOM PAYNE AS PL 'J' ROVIA - THE WALKG DEAD _ SEASON 7, EPISO 14 - PHOTO CRED: GENE PAGE/{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}THE WALKG DEAD NOW HAS THREE GAY CHARACTERS S MA ST, A SIGNIFINT NUMBER FOR AN ACTN-LED SERI WH A LARGE FAN BASE OF BOTH LIBERAL AND NSERVATIVE VIEWERS. THOUGH SOME BIGOTED FANS WENT BALLISTIC WHEN GAY UPLE AARON AND BOYIEND ERIC SHARED A STEAMY SMOOCH ON THE SHOW'S FIFTH SEASON, THAT J IS A FAN-FAVORE AND A PROMENT FIGURE THE UNIVERSE WILL HOPEFULLY ALLOW PRODUCERS TO EXPLORE HIS {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}"IN MY OPN THERE SHOULD BE MORE AWOME GAY PEOPLE FICTN BEE THERE ARE PLENTY OF AWOME GAY PEOPLE REAL LIFE," ROBERT KIRKMAN, WHO CREATED THE WALKG DEAD ICS, SAID LAST {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}"I WANT J TO BE A CHARACTER WHERE HIS SEXUALY IS AS UNIMPORTANT AS RICK OR OTHER HETEROSEXUAL CHARACTERS. SO WE WON'T FOC ON NSTANTLY AND WON'T BE THE FOC OF ANY BIG STORYL FOR HIM... BUT HE'LL MAKE WH A DU EVERY NOW AND THEN... BEFORE GOG OUT AND DROP KICKG ZOMBI."{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}H/T: HARPER'S {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;CLEAR:BOTH;}{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;MARG:0 TO;WIDTH:90%;M-WIDTH:288PX;MAX-WIDTH:1440PX;M-HEIGHT:194PX;}LATT NEWS

Though some bigoted fans went ballistic when gay uple Aaron and boyiend Eric shared a steamy smooch on the show's fifth season, that J is a fan-favore and a proment figure the universe will hopefully allow producers to explore his sexualy. "In my opn there should be more awome gay people fictn bee there are plenty of awome gay people real life, " Robert Kirkman, who created The Walkg Dead ics, said last year.

'The Walkg Dead' Jt Confirmed That J Is Gay

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