A petition in Change.org urges “Star Wars” to have its very first LGBT character. The petition is reportedly inspired by the recent Orlando shooting.
A lot of movements to honor the LGBT society have risen after the horrific Orlando massacre. Now, even “Star Wars” is urged to pay tribute via a petition on Change.org titled “Make Orlando Victim Drew Leinonen the First LGBT Star Wars Movie Character.” The call is addressed to Kathleen Kennedy, president of Lucas Film, Bob Iger, CEO of Walt Disney Corporation, Lucasfilm itself and Walt Disney Corporation.
The creator of the petition is Joshua Yehl, a geek journalist and Star Wars fan. His friend Christopher Andrew “Drew” Leinonen and his boyfriend Juan Ramon Guerrero were among the 49 victims of the shooting. Yehl created the petition to and addressed his open letter to Kathleen Kennedy to request something to honor his fallen friend.
Yehl explained that although he and his best friend bonded over many things, nothing else kept them talking for hours other than “Star Wars.” He stated in his petition that he is writing the request so that the passing of his friend may be honored by making him the inspiration in creating the first LGBT Star Wars character.
Yehl added that this could be achieved by using his likeness, or running his name through a Star Wars Name Generator to create the character. He said that he did not mind how it will be achieved and that he trusts the geniuses behind to franchise to come up with something marvellous.
Yehl praised the people behind Lucasfilm by saying that they are masters of their craft. He added that this tribute will not only honor his best friend and his fallen boyfriend, but also all the people who have lost their lives to hate.
He further reasoned that “Star Wars” never had a gay character on screen. However, he quotes J.J. Abrams, director for “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” who said that the franchise has the glory of possibility in it. Hence, it will be insane and narrow-minded to think that there is no homosexual character in the world located in a galaxy far far away.
Yehl and company have taken things to social media by letting people know about the petition. They are also using the hashtag #PutDrewInStarWars to make the topic trend and to generate more supporters for the petition, Comic Book reported.
