A Long Time Ago in a Closet Far, Far Away…

It’s a question fans have been asking since Star Wars first debuted in 1977: is C-3PO gay?

Of course, your first reaction may be that droids are sexless and asexual, and while they may have masculine or feminine characteristics, they are neither male nor female, and therefore homosexuality or any other orientation is completely out of the question.

And maybe that’s so, but then why has the question fascinated fans for decades?

Because it’s worth asking.

After this comment at the 88th Academy Awards, we may finally have our answer.

Naturally, classifying or outing C-3PO as gay is entirely based on stereotypes, which can of course be untrue and even harmful.

Yet when it comes to Threepio, his mannerisms make him, as James Withers from Gay Star News wrote, “a stereotypical gay man if there ever were one […] a drama queen.”

According to Withers, however, the subliminal hints in the original films were self-aware and even important for LGBT audiences looking to find one of their own, even in a galaxy far, far away.

Then there was this interview between Carrie Fisher and British talkshow host Alan Carr.







Carr suggests that he should audition for the role of C-3PO, and while Carrie deflects by saying that he wouldn’t even fit in the costume since Anthony Daniels–who’s straight–is very thin, Carr brings up the subject again by saying that they can talk more details “when [C-3PO]’s out,” and Fisher agrees that then they can discuss the issue openly.

Clearly, even Princess / General Leia is familiar with the rumors surrounding the golden droid.