Yahoo News Peacock Reminds Us That Chucky Is A Queer Icon
To kick off Pride month, the streaming service Peacock displayed an image on its home screen of Cher, Alan Cumming and Chucky, the red-headed doll from the horror franchise.
Some social media users were confused by Chucky’s inclusion, writing on X, formerly known as Twitter, that it was “certainly a choice,” while others pointed out Chucky is an ally to the LGBTQ community.
Peacock did not have any comment, but Don Mancini, who is gay, created the Chucky horror films franchise in the ’80s ― and in the 2021 TV series “Chucky,” the doll is brought to life by Jake, a 14-year-old gay boy. In episode 2 of the series, Chucky tells Jake that he has his own queer and gender-fluid child.
“You’re cool with it?” Jake asks.
“I’m not a monster, Jake,” Chucky replies.
Happy Pride Month 🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️ pic.twitter.com/TxnScZW3uA
— The Horror Lover (@THorror_Lover_) June 1, 2024
Chucky is so much of an ally that in the first season, he murders Jake’s homophobic father.
The storyline of a gay teen in “Chucky” was one of the reasons the Syfy channel signed on.
Alex Sepiol, executive vice president for drama series at NBCUniversal Television and Streaming, told The New York Times in 2021 that they “embraced the notion” of Jake’s sexuality and “how personal that was to” Mancini.
Mancini said while Jake’s storyline was based on his own life to a degree, he also wanted to normalize a gay romance and “make it cool.”
“I thought it was a great opportunity to give young gay fans representation to see themselves on screen in a way that I wasn’t able to when I was 14 and 15 years old,” Mancini said at Comic Con in 2022.
Chucky also explores his own sexuality in the show through the people he possesses, like the character Nica, Mancini told Syfy in 2021.
“I think Chucky is like a guy who’s always been straight, always identified as straight, but if you can get him drunk, he’ll let his guard down,” Mancini said. “But... the next morning he might feel a little weird about it.”
