Tom Holland’s Fans Come To His Defense After Bigots Attack Him For Playing Queer Character
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Tom Holland’s fans are defending him against homophobic backlash after he appeared in a sex scene with another man in the latest episode of his Apple TV+ series “The Crowded Room.”
After the episode aired over the weekend, homophobic viewers hit Twitter to complain about the Marvel star’s scene, posting a litany of bigoted tweets with the hashtag “NotMySpiderman.”
In the scene from Episode 8, “Reunion,” Holland’s character, Danny Sullivan, dances with a man at a club and has sex with him in a bathroom. In a separate scene, Sullivan is high on drugs and performs oral sex on a different man.
Holland’s fans rallied on social media to support the actor and make it clear they wouldn’t tolerate any hateful remarks about LGBTQ+ people.
Watching fragile cishet men have breakdowns over the reason Tom Holland is trending is sweet wine to me. Oh honey, you realize that he's an ACTOR, right? He's not ACTUALLY Spiderman. He can take any roles he wants, yes, including queer ones. Now breathe deeply & touch some grass.
— Theo Foxx (@FoxxDoesThings) July 14, 2023
throwing love at tom holland, because my man does not deserve the homophobia that's being thrown his way rn pic.twitter.com/2X86a8Mm2g
— paula 🍂 || is going to afhf & eras tour (@lilysdreamworld) July 15, 2023
The homophobia directed at Tom Holland is sickening, pathetic, and utterly unsurprising. He's been upfront about his disdain for Hollywood culture and the abusive garbage that comes with being an actor. I hope he doesn't lose his love for the craft because of this nonsense. https://t.co/jjv6HQEG1K
— Paul Dawkins (@Paul__Dawkins) July 16, 2023
Tom Holland is doing his job, acting. And y'all are weird. The stench of homophobia. pic.twitter.com/Kl1qHYi9uh
— Unruly Say (@samslivliv) July 15, 2023
The fact that a single scene on an Apple Plus show featuring Tom Holland has brought out so much homophobia from the stupidest people is... actually it's not even a little surprising, it's just annoying. pic.twitter.com/y3NGEC0aYd
— Lee (@lee_g_b) July 17, 2023
the homophobia towards tom holland’s role is very awful to see!! yall better keep your unwanted hatred to yourselves!! revaluate yourself!!
— ⑅ j (@purinwntr) July 15, 2023
Many of his fans also seemed perplexed over the backlash, considering that former “Spider-Man” actors Toby Maguire and Andrew Garfield have each portrayed gay characters as well.
The homophobia spewing from comic book fans because Tom Holland played a character on TV while simultaneously putting the other two Spideys on a pedestal as if they haven't done gay scenes before too is something.
— will (@llesuoh) July 15, 2023
Y'all realize every other spiderman has done gay roles too, right? Toby and RDJ literally have sex together in TWO movies
— Prince (@SanjisSobaShop) July 15, 2023
Holland first appeared as Spider-Man in 2016’s “Captain America: Civil War,” and has since starred in multiple Marvel films, including a well-received trilogy of his own, as the friendly neighborhood web-slinger.
Last month, the English actor addressed the pretty bad critical reception of “The Crowded Room,” a psychological thriller series inspired by the real-life case of Billy Milligan, a young man arrested for the kidnapping, robbery and rape of three women around the Ohio State campus in 1977.
Milligan became the first person acquitted of a crime due to dissociative identity disorder (at the time called multiple personality disorder) in an insanity defense.
After “The Crowded Room” earned a skimpy Rotten Tomatoes score of 31%, Holland defended the show, saying it “carries a really important message.”
“The message of the show, which can speak to so many different issues, is that asking for help should be something that we as a society celebrate,” Holland told Unilad’s “Get a Job” in an interview posted June 23.
“It’s an act of bravery,” he continued. “Standing up and asking for help is not something you should be ashamed of, and I hope that this show can represent that in a truthful and authentic, and most importantly, sensitive way.”
Holland, who is also an executive producer on the series, added: “If we can somehow make people feel empowered by saying ‘I’m not feeling good, I really need some help,’ then we’ve done what we set out to do.”
Less than two weeks earlier, Holland had shared his gratitude to fans who supported the show despite its negative reviews.
“I would like to say a massive thank-you to my fans, and the people that have seen the show, because we’re at 94% on Rotten Tomatoes,” Holland said during a June 12 appearance on “Live With Kelly and Mark.” “I feel so grateful that I have a wonderful community of people that support me and are there for me, so I’m honored and really excited for the rest of the show to come out.”
New episodes of “The Crowded Room” air Fridays on Apple TV+.