Tom Hiddleston hopes Loki coming out as bisexual was ‘meaningful’ to fans
Marvel star Tom Hiddleston is reflecting on Loki coming out as bisexual in character’s solo Disney Plus series. (Disney Plus/Marvel)
Tom Hiddleston said he hopes that fans found Loki coming out as bisexual in his Disney series “meaningful”, saying it was a “small step”.
Hiddleston has played Loki in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) since the premiere of the first Thor movie in 2011, and he returned as the God of Mischief last year in the Disney Plus series Loki.
In episode three, Loki had a brief discussion about his love life with variant Sylvie (Sophia Di Martino), who asked if there were any “princesses or perhaps another prince” in his dating history. The trickster god said he liked a “bit of both”, and fans were ecstatic to see the iconic Marvel character come out as bisexual.
Hiddleston spoke about coming back as Loki for the Disney Plus series and reflected on the scene in an interview with the Guardian. He said the show’s creators “wanted to retain the integrity of the character” and not lose the “bits that people loved” while “doing something new”.
“I also hope Loki coming out as bisexual was meaningful to people who spotted it,” Hiddleston added. “It was a small step, and there’s further to go. But it was definitely important to all of us.”
After the episode dropped, showrunner Kate Herron, who herself is bisexual, explained on Twitter that it was her “goal” from the moment that she joined the series to “acknowledge Loki was bisexual”.
“It is a part of who he is and who I am too,” Herron wrote. “I know this is a small step but I’m happy, and heart is so full, to say that this is now canon in [the MCU].”
From the moment I joined @LokiOfficial it was very important to me, and my goal, to acknowledge Loki was bisexual. It is a part of who he is and who I am too. I know this is a small step but I’m happy, and heart is so full, to say that this is now Canon in #mcu #Loki ??? pic.twitter.com/lz3KJbewx8
— Kate Herron (@iamkateherron) June 23, 2021
However, after the brief scene, Loki’s bisexuality was largely ignored throughout the rest of the show. Herron added in a later interview with Entertainment Tonight that she hoped the coming out scene “paves the way for deeper exploration” later.
It’s a Sin writer Russell T Davies called Loki’s coming out scene a “feeble gesture” and slammed it as part of Disney’s “pathetic” attempts to include more LGBTQ+ stories.
“Loki makes one reference to being bisexual once, and everyone’s like, ‘Oh, my God, it’s like a pansexual show’,” Davies said. “It’s like one word. He said the word ‘prince’, and we’re meant to go, ‘Thank you, Disney! Aren’t you marvellous?’”
He described the scene as a “ridiculous, craven, feeble gesture” towards the “vital politics” of including LGBTQ+ characters and the “stories that should be told” in mainstream media.
