Benedict Wong is calling out Homophobic internet Trolls after they attacked his Doctor Strange 2 in the Multiverse Of Madness co-star Xochitl Gomez. Gomez (The Baby-Sitters Club) is making her MCU debut as America Chavez, a gay teenager who can jump between universes. Multiverse of Madness is banned in Saudi Arabia and other territories because there is a dialogue that mentions her lesbian mothers. Disney has refused to cut any LGBTQ references in the film.
“It’s a big deal that America is in this movie. It’s just huge. And I’m just so happy that Marvel has stuck to it and kept the scene in there,” Gomez told Asia One (via The Independent). “And it’s just pretty crazy that I get to be the one who plays America. Although, yes, my name may be circled within hate and stuff, but it’s okay.”
During their interview, Wong jumped in on the topic and said, “It is not okay. She auditioned aged 13 and she joined us aged 14, one of the youngest actors to join the MCU of a film of that magnitude. You know, she’s just a young girl playing her role and full praise for that.”
“There’s a real level of shame for all those trolls that are cowards not to actually put their face [out there], and they should feel a deep shame of what they’re doing,” Wong added. “Let’s all just play nice. Let’s all just enjoy what we are representing. It’s sad that fans in that country won’t get to see this. But all we are doing is radiating representation, voicing the voiceless. And that’s all that we can do — represent people so that they can be seen.”
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is in theaters on Friday.