Viewers of new Star Wars film The Rise of Skywalkerare confused as to why it’s being praised for featuring the franchise’s first ever same-sex kiss, when the moment was so “throwaway”.
Director JJ Abrams announced that Episode IX would feature an LGBTQ character and, sure enough, the film has a scene that sees two women Resistance Fighters sharing a kiss after being reunited.
Naturally, after months of anticipation, viewers were disappointed to see the kiss was shared by two minor characters, one of whom is played by Amanda Lawrence and appeared in The Last Jedi, in an extremely brief moment.
“A blink-and-you-miss-it LGBT kiss in the background isn’t any kind of representation worth applauding,” one Twitter user wrote.
Another Twitter user said: “Love to be represented by unnamed extras that can be cut from the Chinese release without touching the story at all – we are only background characters after all.”
“A throwaway moment in the background with nameless extras is not particularly brave or groundbreaking,” one tweet read. ”Save the breathlessness for when they give us someone with a name in the story.
The moment has escaped censorship in China.
You can see reactions to the moment below.
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, which is in UK cinemas now, is dividing critics – especially those who were fans of The Last Jedi, which, going by recent comments, doesn’t seem to be John Boyega.
Find a full list of every unexpected cameo appearance in the film here.
