Oct 18
Gay Twitter in Disbelief over Marvel's 'Locktober' Post
Kilian Melloy READ TIME: 3 MIN.
Gay Twitter was in paroxysms of laughter and shock after Marvel Studios posted an inadvertent reference to a monthlong kink challenge involving cage-like chastity cage.
The tweet features a photo of out actor Joe Locke – a star of both "Agatha All Along" on Disney+ and the smash hit Netflix series "Heartstopper" – and, while it obviously aims for wordplay on star's name, it also happens to reference the name of an annual challenge that's popular among a certain subset of the kink community.
"The big and enduring idea behind Locktober is that you are locked into a chastity device for the 31 calendar days of October," an explanatory post at House of Denial outlines. "That's the Pillar concept but beyond that - it's entirely subjective to each person participating."
Adds the post: "Locktober is designed to be a month to challenge yourself - to see if you can last out the month being caged or belted."
Locke plays "Teen," a queer main character on the MCU TV series "WandaVision" spinoff, now streaming at Disney+. The 20-year-old has said that the character is "darker" than the role he plays on the sweet LGBTQ+-themed romantic comedy series "Heartstopper," which is based on the popular graphic novels of the same name.
However, Locke might not have meant to suggest that Teen is into kink, let alone an enthusiast of chastity devices.
Naturally, Gay Twitter picked up on the gaffe right away and ran with it. "excited for you to explain this tweet to Feige," one person commented, referencing MCU head honcho Kevin Feige.
"Sista that's not what that means," another exclaimed, while a third chortled, "TIME TO LOCK IN".
Sighed a fourth, "Bruh".
Still another, recalling how the openly gay creator of Disney+ animated series "X-Men 97" was abruptly dismissed earlier this year, declared, "Kudos to the intern who got this published ... but the company still fired @BeauDemayo ?"
See some of the responses below.
Kilian Melloy serves as EDGE Media Network's Associate Arts Editor and Staff Contributor. His professional memberships include the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association, the Boston Online Film Critics Association, The Gay and Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association, and the Boston Theater Critics Association's Elliot Norton Awards Committee.