“I thought of her initially as being bi, because I’m kind of projecting myself onto this character,” the actress said.
Mey RudeOnce again, the MCU is back doing what it does best – introducing barely-there queer representation. But at the same time, we’re happy to welcome a new actress into the LGBTQ+ community!
The latest blink-and-you’ll-miss-it example of LGBTQ+ rep comes from the latest ep of Disney+’s She-Hulk where Nikki Ramos, She-Hulk’s BFF and paralegal was helping Jen, aka She-Hulk, make a dating profile and get some matches.
As Nikki is swiping through a dating app for Jen, she remarks “hetero life is grim,” which led to fans speculating the character might not be hetero herself.
Now, Ginger Gonzaga, the actress who plays Nikki has confirmed that the line was indeed meant to signal that she’s not straight.
“I wish that we got to do more. Nikki is definitely queer, she’s free, she’ll love anyone,” Gonzaga told TVLine. “I thought of her initially as being bi, because I’m kind of projecting myself onto this character.”
That in itself is big news, as Gonzaga had previously not been out as bisexual. She had previously dated comedian Jim Carrey after the two worked together on the show Kidding.
“But in truth I think Nikki will love anyone — and she can hang with anyone, which is fun. She can hang with villains, and she can all of a sudden convince them to get on her side. She can charm herself out of any situation. There are no rules for Nikki, which is a nice balance with Jen Walters.”
Gonzaga has also teased that we’ll get to see a little bit more of Nikki’s queerness in an upcoming episode.
“I wish we got to see her dating more, but I will say she has a bit of a secret crush on Mallory (played by Renée Elise Goldsberry), which we’ll see. Nikki doesn’t have any problems dating, so we're trying to focus on what needs to happen, which is getting Jen to love herself in both forms and finally go on some decent dates — without getting monkeypox, I hope!”
It really is a shame that this is the only kind of queer representation we can get from the MCU. Even when a character’s queerness is used as a marketing technique, as with America Chavez in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and Valkyrie in Thor: Love and Thunder, it ends up underwhelming.
Still, we’re beyond excited for Gonzaga coming out, we love her on the show and can’t wait to see what she does with the character!
RELATED | All the LGBTQ+ (and Queerish) Characters in the MCU So Far
0Ginger Gonzaga Comes Out as Bi Through Queer She-Hulk Character
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