Flip Them The Bird: 'Gotham' Star Hits Out At Homophobia Over Penguin Storyline

There is trouble brewing on the streets of Gotham City, and it looks #Fox's #Gotham is still coming under fire for its recent pairing of two iconic characters and the show's first LGBT relationship. Season 3 of the hit #TV show saw the progressive storyline of #RobinLordTaylor's Penguin coming out as gay, which as you can imagine, rubbed some internet trolls up the wrong way.

An obvious departure from the character's #comicbook background, we saw #Penguin develop a romantic interest in Cory Michael Smith's Edward Nygma. However, it seemed that not everyone was happy with the homosexual storyline and it became one of the most divisive parts of the season.

Gay is OK!

Now, Taylor himself has hit back at critics in an interview with Collider and has some advice for those who have a problem with the plot: Just don't watch it:

"Penguin was raised by penguins, and that was apparently fine, and you know Jack Nicholson, the Joker killing Batman's parents in the [Tim Burton movie]. I haven't really seen a lot of people shitting their pants about that."

In 2017 it is odd to think that such a situation still exists, but as Taylor puts it, critics of the storyline are showing a basic lack of intelligence:

"But, you know, when we introduce a queer storyline, 'Eh, we love you and we love the show, but this really bothers me because you're really messing with the character's origins.' And I'm like, 'You're homophobic, that's homophobic. That's it, right there.'"

It is safe to say that Taylor's portrayal of Oswald Cobblepot is one of the best parts of the show that charts a young Jim Gordon's rise to Commissioner. Considering that Penguin is a character that has been around since 1941, and irrelevant of his sexuality on Gotham, it is refreshing to see a new reimagining of the waddling wisecracker.

It is a million miles away from Danny DeVito's performance in Tim Burton's Batman Returns, or the cockney reimagining we have seen in the New 52 and Arkham Games; however, did we bat an eyelid when they reinvented Burgess Meredith's characterization from the '60s TV show?

A new era of Batman.

Taylor went on to praise showrunner #BrunoHeller for not being afraid to change what we already think we know about the #Batman universe:

"That's what I love because it reassures me that what we're doing, even though we get a lot of people coming at us about it, this canon shit, this is to be reinterpreted and reimagined."

"How stale would it be if we were just telling, you know, 'The Dark Knight Rises' in another two years, every five years."

The show certainly doesn't pull any punches when tweaking its characters, which arguably is what makes it such gripping television. Other departures from Bob Kane and Bill Finger's comic books include a more fleshed-out origin story for the Joker. After that change was met with such fan praise, what's the deal with sexuality?

Batman: The Brave And The Bold

Homosexuality in comic books is nothing new, while even in Gotham City, the likes of Batwoman, Harley Quinn, and even Catwoman all give an LGBT perspective. What if Camren Bicondova's Selina Kyle stuck to her source material and suddenly came out as bisexual on the show, would we still have such an issue?

It is also ironic that the character of Batwoman was first introduced in 1956 as a way to make Batman and Robin seem less homosexual, yet now she is one of the most powerful LGBT heroes out there; I'm sure some critics of Gotham would still have a problem in addressing her sexuality.

With so many primetime shows representing same-sex relationships, why should Gotham be any different? You have to agree with Taylor's sentiments on the issue, although it is seen as "brave" to change an iconic character's sexual preferences, why should it be seen as brave at all? God help the person who ever suggests there is more to Batman and Robin again.

(Source: Collider)