Everyone seems to have forgotten a surprising gay moment from Disney’s The Princess Diaries 2
The Princess Dairies 3 has been confirmed, but fans only want it if Anne Hathaway is involved. (Disney)
In 2004, Disney quietly introduced its first openly gay character in The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement – and the entire world promptly forgot it happened.
The film isn’t really remembered very well today, but it turns out it broke new ground for queer representation – kind of – according to CBR.com.
The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement follows Mia Thermopolis (Anne Hathaway) as she returns to Genovia, where she is due to take the crown from her grandmother, Queen Clarisse (Julie Andrews).
However, Princess Mia later discovers that the only way she can ascend to the throne is if she marries within a month – cue a last-minute scramble to find a husband.
The film’s gay moment occurs when Princess Mia is shown a PowerPoint presentation of potential suitors. One of the men is Antoine Suisson.
Princess Mia is told he enjoys poetry, dressage and “Liberace memorabilia” – and while she thinks he’s cute, she is told that he already has a boyfriend.
In a surprising turn of events, Princess Mia responds by raising her fist and saying: “Support!”
The surprising gay moment in The Princess Diaries 2 has been largely forgotten
If we’re being totally honest, we’re not sure if Antoine can actually be considered a “character” considering he only appears in a photo shown on screen.
However, it is surprising to see a Disney character – all the way back in 2004, nonetheless – expressing support for gay rights.
Much has been made about gay characters in Disney films in the years since. The studio has generally shied away from queer representation – particularly in its big budget cinema offerings – but there have been a few headline-grabbing moments.
In 2017, the studio’s live-action remake of Beauty and the Beast saw LeFou (played by Josh Gad) dance with a man in what can only be described as a “blink-and-you’ll-miss it” moment.
In 2020, Disney was quick to point out that Lena Waithe was voicing an openly queer character in Onward – however, there was some disappointment among LGBT+ filmgoers when the gay moment didn’t exactly live up to expectations.
Things are starting to change – albeit slowly. Marvel, which is owned by Disney, is set to introduce an openly gay superhero in Eternals, due for release later this year.
Maybe one day Disney will actually start putting meaningful, well-developed LGBT+ characters in its films.
