RuPaul schooled for saying he ‘doesn’t get’ Spider-Man because he’s gay
RuPaul doesn’t ‘get’ Spider-Man. (Getty for World Of Wonder/ Tristan Fewings and Getty for Sony/ Christopher Polk)
RuPaul has insisted that he “doesn’t get” Spider-Man because he’s gay, but the superhero’s LGBT+ fans beg to differ.
RuPaul appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live on Tuesday (14 December) and discussed his experience guest-hosting Kimmel’s talkshow earlier this year.
He said: “A couple of [your] writers, I asked them, ‘What’s the thing with Spider-Man?’ I get Superman, I get Wonder Woman, I’ve never gotten Spider-Man!”
Confused, Kimmel asked why, and RuPaul continued: “You know, I think because I’m gay. I think that’s probably it.”
The RuPaul’s Drag Race host explained that he understood Superman, which he described as “the story of Christ, the story of an ascended master”, adding: “Superman represents the hidden specialness and uniqueness that each of us has.”
He asked again: “What is the thing with Spider-Man? I don’t understand the hidden meaning behind it.”
Kimmel explained that Spider-Man’s popularly came from the fact that he was “real” and “funny” and that because he is young, he make kids “feel like they can be a superhero too”, but RuPaul chimed in: “The thing is, Clark Kent is hot.”
Queer Spider-Man fans told RuPaul: ‘It’s so much more than being hot’
Despite RuPaul’s claim that he doesn’t “get” Spider-Man because he’s gay, many LGBT+ fans took to social media to tell him otherwise.
Hitting back at his suggestion that Clark Kent was hot and Peter Parker wasn’t, some spoke out about the “impact” the Spider-Man films had had on their “gay sexual awakening”.
@RuPaul this is why gay men like Spider man! pic.twitter.com/FBevmIiEJQ
— Michael P. Sullivan (@bilbomps) December 16, 2021
I've only just realised the impact 2000s #TobeyMaguire had on my gay sexual awakening #SpiderMan pic.twitter.com/OyDHXEJFFz— Real Housewives Out of Context (@RHOutOfContext) December 16, 2021
Others insisted that the superhero’s appeal for queer fans was “so much more” than hotness.
One gay “lifelong fan of Spider-Man” explained: “I’ll break it down real easy for you Mama RuPaul: Spider-Man taught us [that] even us misfits have a place in this life!
“Not a made up ‘metropolis’ or an ascended being, it’s being different and accepting who you are becoming.
It's so much more that being "hot". I suggest you read The Amazing Spiderman #121 & 122. It's the continuing story of the death of Gwen Stacy. Have Kleenex on the ready! – 2/2 pic.twitter.com/k0VSZ6wZD0— JLA – Abolish The Filibuster #BlackLivesMatter (@is_jla) December 15, 2021
“It’s so much more than being ‘hot’.”
