Love, Victor: Why Michael Cimo Took Gay Role Agast Indtry Advice – IndieWire

Contents:

• 'LOVE, VICTOR': HULU'S GAY TEEN ROM- WAS DUMPED BY DISNEY+: WHY THAT SENDS THE WRONG MSAGE
• 'LOVE, VICTOR' :'' SEASON 2 TRAILER' ' TEAS WHAT'S NEXT FOR VICTOR SALAZAR AFTER HE COM OUT AS GAY
• ‘LOVE, VICTOR’ STAR SAYS GAY ROLE SPARKED HOMOPHOBIA OM HIS FAY, ATH THREATS
• LOVE, VICTOR REP: THE PERFECT LEVEL OF GAY
• HOW ‘LOVE, VICTOR’ CAPTUR ONE PARENT’S STGGLE TO ACCEPT HER GAY SON (EXCLUSIVE)
• HULU’S LOVE, VICTOR IS UGHT UP THE MYTHOLOGY OF WHE GAYNS
• WHY ‘LOVE, VICTOR’ STAR MICHAEL CIMO TOOK A GAY ROLE AGAST INDTRY ADVICE
• CAN ‘LOVE VICTOR’ FY THE STEREOTYP ABOUT GROWG UP GAY?
• MICHAEL CIMO SAYS HE CONSULTED HIS GAY CO ABOUT LOVE, VICTOR ROLE: 'IT WAS VERY SPECIAL'
• IS VICTOR LOVE GAY?

'LOVE, VICTOR': HULU'S GAY TEEN ROM- WAS DUMPED BY DISNEY+: WHY THAT SENDS THE WRONG MSAGE

While Hollywood has broken new ground wh rerd LGBTQ reprentatn and nuanced gay storytellg, Walt Disney Co. That much-hyped "exclively gay moment" Disney's live-actn "Bety and the Beast?

'LOVE, VICTOR' :'' SEASON 2 TRAILER' ' TEAS WHAT'S NEXT FOR VICTOR SALAZAR AFTER HE COM OUT AS GAY

" So I was disappoted, but not at all surprised, when Disney+ revealed Febary that "Love, Victor" – a seri spoff of groundbreakg 2018 gay movie "Love, Simon" – would no longer premiere on the fay-iendly service due to s "adult them.

More:Watch the LGBTQ-iendly TV shows, films to honor Pri MonthHavg watched the 10-episo first season of "Love, Victor, " 's hard not to see Disney+'s choice to dump the g-of-age edy as wardly and homophobic; an easy way of passg off the show to sister service Hulu, whout any of the potential backlash om tolerant, pearl-clutchg "Love, Simon, " " Victor" centers on a wsome high-school boy stgglg to e to terms wh his sexualy.

But he quickly velops a secret csh on Benji (Gee Sear), an openly gay, almost illy dreamy barista at the ffee shop where Victor works part-time. In fact, tak Victor almost the entire season to even say the word "gay.

‘LOVE, VICTOR’ STAR SAYS GAY ROLE SPARKED HOMOPHOBIA OM HIS FAY, ATH THREATS

One uld argue that "Love, Victor" is on Hulu, rather than Disney+, bee of subject matter that has nothg to do wh s ma character beg gay.

LOVE, VICTOR REP: THE PERFECT LEVEL OF GAY

Specifilly, Victor's journey to disver his sexualy sets Love, Victor apart om Love, Simon a big the first few mut of Love, Simon, viewers learned the ma character, Simon, is gay, when the narratn allus to a csh he has on a garner. Victor's story, however, begs when he's a sophomore, and unlike Simon, he don't yet know what is sexualy is. Unlike Simon, whose journey the movie was centered on his g-out, Victor's Season 1 story was about a cliffhanger of a Season 1 fale — Victor's parents tellg him they're separatg and him tellg them he's gay return — fans are hopeful this is jt the start of Victor's story, and that a Season 2 will follow up wh his next, Victor Season 1 is streamg now on Hulu.

After Victor Salazar me out as gay Love, Victor's season 1 fale, fans will fally get to see the next chapter his story.

Victor then qutns what "the perfect level of gay" is that he n meet orr to "keep everyone happy" around him. He adds, "I'm too gay to be the locker rooms, but I'm not gay enough for Benji and his iends.

HOW ‘LOVE, VICTOR’ CAPTUR ONE PARENT’S STGGLE TO ACCEPT HER GAY SON (EXCLUSIVE)

"Beg out brgs wh new challeng, as Victor fac a fay stgglg wh his revelatn, a heartbroken ex-girliend Mia, and the difficulti of beg an openly gay star athlete — all while navigatg the excement of his relatnship wh Benji, " the scriptn reads. Michael Cimo, the straight star of Hulu’s gay-themed g-of-age seri “Love, Victor, ” says he has been attacked by some the LGBTQ muny and even some of his own fay members.

In a new terview wh Attu, Cimo — who plays the tular Victor — says: “I got some homophobic ments — I kd of expected that to happen. ”He add, “Some of them reached out, sayg, ‘You ed to be so ol; now you’re so gay. “It’s weird … [the Latx muny] is liberal when to thgs about Latos, but when to gay rights, ’s like, eh, qutn mark, ” Cimo said the terview.

HULU’S LOVE, VICTOR IS UGHT UP THE MYTHOLOGY OF WHE GAYNS

”In the Attu terview, Cimo said, “There’s nothg wrong wh beg gay. ’”Cimo has said multiple terviews that he has been warned agast takg gay rol for fear of typestg. Meanwhile, the young actor has also faced fierce blowback for takg a role that an out gay actor might have played.

“But there are some straight actors who play gay characters, who are all about supportg LGBT rights while they’re promotg their project, but once they’re done, a year later, ’s kd of fotten. ”Straight actors playg gay rol has been the subject of bate for some time, often hgg on Hollywood’s history of forcg gay actors to the closet real life and offerg only limed chanc to explore the humany of gay characters on-screen.

WHY ‘LOVE, VICTOR’ STAR MICHAEL CIMO TOOK A GAY ROLE AGAST INDTRY ADVICE

Grant, who received an Osr nomatn for playg a gay character “Can You Ever Five Me?, ” said: “I’ve always had that ncern... The transgenr movement and the #MeToo movement means, how n you jtify heterosexual actors playg gay characters? Criss, who has famoly played queer characters cludg Andrew Cunanan “The Assassatn of Gianni Versace: Amerin Crime Story” and Hedwig “Hedwig and the Angry Inch” onstage, said he wouldn’t take gay rol anymore, bee “I want to make sure I won’t be another straight boy takg a gay man’s role.

“What is the perfect level of gay that will keep everyone happy? That is the biggt qutn on Victor Salazar’s md, as he grappl wh his evolvg inty as an openly gay (former) star athlete at Creekwood High. After reachg a major tone his relatnship wh Benji, Victor — who was told last season that “there’s no one way to be gay” — is forced to nont another load qutn: Is he willg to sacrifice a part of his inty to fe a new one?

Then, at Benji’s after-school “fay and iends ncert, ” ’s llg Victor “the least gay gay person alive.

CAN ‘LOVE VICTOR’ FY THE STEREOTYP ABOUT GROWG UP GAY?

“Please tell me what’s the exact level of gay I should be, ” he tells Andrew.

“Bee apparently, I’m too gay for the locker room, but I’m not gay enough for Benji and his iends. If anyone has a problem wh , they n answer to me, ” Andrew says before Victor rightfully nonts him about not wantg to “risk your reputatn for the gay kid. “This is our way of sayg that you n be as gay as you want, whatever way that you want, and we will forever stand [by] you, ” Andrew says, before the other teammat the moment (but, hey, at least they are tryg!

The send season of “Love, Victor” — the spoff seri of the groundbreakg 2018 g out feature “Love, Simon” — picks up right where the first left off, wh Atlanta teenager Victor Salazar (Michael Cimo) tellg his parents that he’s gay. Victor’s attempt to nvce himself he uld be wh a woman) and wonrg aloud when he cid he was gay.

MICHAEL CIMO SAYS HE CONSULTED HIS GAY CO ABOUT LOVE, VICTOR ROLE: 'IT WAS VERY SPECIAL'

As the season unfolds, while Armando do the work to unrstand his son by attendg meetgs of the lol chapter of an LGBTQIA+ ally support group, led by Simon’s father Jack (Josh Duhamel), Isabel really stggl to accept that Victor is gay. Ortiz even played that role to perfectn on ABC’s beloved telenovela “Ugly Betty” as Hilda Suarez, who fiercely protected her young gay son Jt (Mark Inlito). ’ I’ve heard that que a b om people my muny: ‘Well, jt, no — tell him he n’t be gay.

She relays how her late Freddy was voted to her paternal grandmother Ramona, spe the fact that for a long time Ramona uld not accept that Freddy was gay. One of the biggt stickg pots between Victor and Isabel is her refal to allow Victor to tell his ltle brother Adrian (Mateo Fernanz) that he’s gay, a velopment that grew out of the small ntroversy when “Love, Victor” moved om s ial home on Disney Pl to Hulu before Season 1.

Once Adrian do learn that Victor is gay, he accepts whout a send thought, which spurs Isabel to nont the biggt impediment between her and Victor: her lifelong votn to the Catholic Church. Early on Season 2, Isabel even nsults her prit about Victor; he unsels her to try to help her son fd his way back to J — other words, to stop beg gay.

IS VICTOR LOVE GAY?

“It’s a ltle b easier for me now to dialogue wh someone my fay who has those [homophobic] views, ” she says.

Victor is gog through a siar crisis of personal and sexual inty: Though movg to a new town suggts he will be ee to explore his attractn to men, the sual homophobia he experienc at school, at home wh his fay reelg om the move, and by his awkward only iend Felix (Anthony Turpel); the nontatns wh the popular bully on the basketball team Andrew (Mason Goodg), and the social prsure (mixed wh ternalized homophobia) to date a popular girl, Mia (Rachel Naomi Hilson), all make his g of queerns slightly msier than many on screen reprentatns. But over the season, Victor and Simon velop a rrponnce over Instagram DM, turng the character om the first movie to a gay mentor for the trated, sred, and nfed Victor.