Star Wars fans petition for LGBT character as tribute to Orlando victim

A fan petition has been set up to ask Star Wars producers Lucasfilm to create the franchise’s first LGBT character in honour of one of the victims of the Orlando nightclub shooting. Drew Leinonen was among the 49 people shot dead – along with his boyfriend, Juan Ramon Guerrero – at the Pulse nightclub in June. Leinonen’s friend and fellow Star Wars devotee Joshua Yehl is behind the post on change.org.

In an open letter addressed to Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy and Bob Iger, CEO of Disney (the studio that owns the Star Wars series), Yehl explains that Leinonen was a “passionate” Star Wars fan, and that “nothing would make him happier than for all the little gay nerds out there to have their own Star Wars character to look up to.”

Yehl also quotes Star Wars: The Force Awakens director JJ Abrams on the subject – “The fun of Star Wars is the glory of possibility. So it seems insanely narrow-minded and counterintuitive to say that there wouldn’t be a homosexual character in that world” – and suggests that as the franchise has made efforts to include female and African American characters, the introduction of an LGBT character would be a beneficial act.

“This is a universe with Wookies, Jawas, and Hutts, so why can’t there be a visible LGBT character on screen? ... It’s vitally important that LGBT people are included in mainstream media because it will show that we don’t need to be feared or hated or hidden. We can be part of the rebellion and we can fight evil, and we can do it while being who we are with pride.”