Before Kristen Stewart emerged as one of the gay icons of Hollywood, she was best known for her role as Bella Swan in the ‘Twilight‘ franchise. The Vampire Saga was a super hit globally. Based on the books by Stephenie Meyer, the movie series had a total of five films.
Starring Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner among other stars, the film series went down as one of the most celebrated vampire franchises of the era. While its charm is eventually fading with the stars themselves deeming it an overrated project, Kristen Stewart has another label to put on it. The actress recently said that the movie was clearly gay.
Why Does Kristen Stewart Think ‘Twilight’ Is A Gay Movie?
In a recent interview with Variety, Kristen Stewart who played Bella Swan in the Twilight film franchise, said the movie has very strong queer undertones. This comes years after the actress came out as queer in 2017.
Stewart told Variety that she believes the vampire-human-werewolf love triangle has a distinct queer allure. “I can only see it now. I don’t think it necessarily started off that way, but I also think that the fact that I was there at all, it was percolating. It’s such a gay movie,” Stewart said, explaining how her interpretation of the series evolved over time.
The narrative of the ‘Twilight‘ series revolved around Bella’s romantic dilemma between the brooding vampire Edward Cullen, played by Robert Pattinson, and werewolf Jacob Black, played by Taylor Lautner.
The franchise worked as a benchmark movie for all three leading names including Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, and Taylor Lautner, putting them into the spotlight like never before in their careers. It gained international superstardom, which also highlighted the actual romance between Stewart and Pattinson, who dated for four years between 2009 and 2013.
“I mean, Jesus Christ; Taylor and Rob and me, and it’s so hidden and not okay,” Stewart said while talking about the dynamics within the love triangle. “I mean, a Mormon woman wrote this book. It’s all about oppression, about wanting what’s going to destroy you. That’s a very Gothic, gay inclination that I love,” she explained.
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Kristen Stewart Opens Up About Coming Out As Gay On ‘SNL’
Stewart’s labeling of the movie as queer has indeed sparked some ideas about the cultural impact of Twilight. The actress came out during her Saturday Night Live monologue in 2017. Speaking to Variety about it, the actress said, “It wasn’t even like I was hiding. I was so openly out with my girlfriend for years at that point.”
“It was cool to frame it in a funny context because it could say everything [about my sexuality] without [my] having to sit down and do an interview. So what platform is that going to be on? And who’s going to make money on that? And who’s going to be the person that broke it? I broke it, alone,” she added.
Talking about her ‘SNL‘ monologue, where she jokingly addressed former President Donald Trump’s tweets about her personal life, Stewart said, “The president is not a huge fan of me. But that is so okay. And Donald, if you didn’t like me then, you’re probably not going to like me now, because I’m hosting SNL and I’m so gay, dude.”
Stewart’s upcoming project includes Rose Glass’ upcoming A24 queer romance thriller, ‘Love Lies Bleeding’.
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