‘The Acolyte’ Creator Answers To Fan Backlash Regarding Witches of Brendok: “You’re Not Really Paying Attention”

‘Star Wars: The Acolyte’ is the most recent installment in the franchise. The show generated quite a bit of stir even before release when Leslye Headland, the creator of the show claimed that it’s the “gayest” Star Wars installment yet.

Now since the show is generating a negative response, Headland says that her show is being read in unintended ways and fans aren’t really paying attention to what is going on, but she is still happy to inspire the LGBT community.

One of the most controversial things about the show is definitely the fact that it has some LGBTQ themes, such as the introduction of an all-female coven of Witches living secluded on the planet of Brendok. Two witches who stood as the main characters of episode 3 were seemingly in a romantic relationship and managed to create twins Osha & Mae without a male present, through some unknown means by manipulating the force.

Then there’s also the confirmation that Jecki Lon has a crush on Osha, despite being a Jedi, and the usage of pronouns to refer to Bazil in ‘Episode 4,’ something that was later explained by one of the writers to be a joke.

In her recent interview with New York Post, Headland explained that fans aren’t paying attention to the themes of the show:

I was surprised by the question.Amandla and I just burst out laughing because that’s our knee-jerk reaction to being asked that, but to be honest, I don’t know what the term ‘gay’ means in that sense. I don’t believe that I’ve created queer, with a capital Q, content. […] They’re in a matriarchal society. As a gay woman, I knew it would read that their sexuality is queer, but there also aren’t any men in their community. So a closeness between the two of them would be natural. It seemed plot-driven. […] I would say it’s really reductive to call them lesbians. I think it means you’re not really paying attention to this story.

Headland further explained that she is not ashamed that she created a show that is perceived as Queer:

I’m proud of being a gay woman who’s accomplished this feat, and certainly, if my content is called queer, I don’t want to disown whatever queerness is in the show. I would be proud to create something that inspired queer people.

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