Netfllix shuts down homophobes complaining about ‘Elite’s gay romance
The Spanish teen drama has won plaudits for its progressive depiction of teen sexuality.
By Will Stroude
Words: Will Stroude
If you’ve not tuned in to Netflix’s new Spanish teen series Elite yet, the question is, WHY NOT?
The eight-part high school drama about the culture clash between three scholarship students and their rich, privileged classmates has won plaudits for its progressive depiction of teen sexuality, which includes same-sex romance, polyamorous relationships and a refreshingly grounded HIV storyline.
Of course, despite the forward-thinking representation of LGBT lives included in the series, embittered homophobes have wasted no time making their (gross) feelings heard on social media.
Luckily, Netflix have exactly zero time for it.
On Sunday (14 October), the US streaming giant shared a picture on of the characters at the centre of the Elite‘s same-sex romance storyline, Muslim drug dealer Omar (Omar Ayuso) and privileged tennis protégé Ander (Arón Piper), with the caption “The only thing I want is to be with you. #Omander”.
The picture was quickly jumped on by bigots who accused Netflix of “shoving the gay agenda down everyone’s throat”, with some even threatening to cancel their memberships.
Netflix weren’t about to lose sleep over it, however, and replied to one particularly eloquent comment telling the couple to “get the f**k off [their] Instagram” with a tide of of rainbow emojis.
“Sorry, couldn’t read your comment while surrounded by all these beautiful rainbows”, Netflix wrote in a comment which attracted over 18,000 likes.
The unlikely hero running the company’s social media channels later replied to one of the many supportive comments with a promise to keep challenging the haters, writing: “honestly just spurring me on to post so much more gay stuff today”.
We guess she snapped.
Netflix’s show of solidarity didn’t go unnoticed, and Gus Kenworthy was among those to voice their approval.
The US Olympic freeskier, who came out as gay publicly in 2015, wrote under the post: “YAAASSSSSS Netflix. Killing it with the gay content and A+ clapbacks”.
Way to go, Netflix.
Elite is available to stream now and you can check out the trailer below: