Joe Locke had poster for this popular gay rom-com removed from Agatha All Along set

Eagle-eyed Agatha All Along fans have managed to work out which poster for an LGBTQ+ movie Joe Locke had removed from his character’s bedroom.

In the spooky sapphic Marvel series, Heartstopper’s Joe Locke plays Billy Maximoff, aka gay superhero Wiccan, and his bedroom is adorned with Pride merch and movie memorabilia.

One of the room’s most eye-catching features is the addition of a large “Trans Lives Matter” flag, which Locke had a hand in bringing to the set.

Speaking to The Wrap in October, Locke revealed that he asked for a few items in Wiccan’s bedroom to be swapped around, including a poster for an unnamed a queer movie that he felt the community had “moved on from”.

Now, thanks to new set images shared by Agatha All Along‘s supervising art director Drew Monahan, fans have worked out that the outdated film in question was 2018 gay rom-com, Love, Simon.

In photos shared by Monahan and posted on social media by the show’s fans, the corner of Wiccan’s room has a huge poster for Nick Robinson’s gay film Love, Simon, in place of where the “Trans Lives Matter” flag ended up.

In Monahan’s images, the flag takes less prominence, hanging below the poster.

HELP it *was* love simon that got swapped out for the trans lives matter flag 😭 pic.twitter.com/12EvVIphtF

— carly 🔮 (@narliebirds) November 19, 2024

Locke expressed during his conversation with The Wrap that he didn’t think Wiccan “would have watched” the film in question.

“There were a few film posters up there that I didn’t necessarily think that he would have watched. I’m not going to name the [names] of those films. Like, very good representation for that time, but we’ve moved on from that sort of thing… so, we replaced one of them with the Trans Lives Matter flag,” he revealed.

“Our set-dressers and prop department were amazing, and there was so much incredible stuff there, but there was one sticker in Billy’s room, and it was like, the moon phases in a rainbow, and it said, ‘not a phase’ underneath it.

“I was like: ‘This is great but it has to go. I’m really sorry but this has to go,’” he added.

Love, Simon divided LGBTQ+ viewers

Upon its release in 2018, Love, Simon was met with a split reaction from LGBTQ+ viewers. Amid a dearth of LGBTQ+ representation on screen – particularly in the rom-com sense – Greg Berlanti’s film was seen as a joyous, groundbreaking film to many.

Yet a fair proportion of the community felt the film was telling a one-dimensional LGBTQ+ story that catered more to straight audiences than queer people.

The film followed closeted gay teen Simon (Nick Robinson) who is threatened with being outed after he begins communicating online with a fellow, closted schoolkid – who turns out to be his classmate, Bram (Keiynan Lonsdale).

Long story shot – six-year-old spoilers! – Simon and Bram get together and live happily ever after.

Love, Simon opens with Simon promising that he is “just like you, I have a perfectly normal life,” with some feeling that the film lacked the nuance of what it truly means to be a queer kid.

Some also felt Simon was attempting to mould himself into heteronormative relationship standards. 

After learning that it was Love, Simon that Locke opted to bin off, social media users have agreed that Wiccan definitely wouldn’t have enjoyed the film.

“Real ones know that movie was awful and the real ‘gay content for straight people’,” wrote one Agatha All Along stan.

“GOOD lmao he would hate that movie,” a second agreed.

Agatha All Along is streaming now on Disney+.

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