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top 200 commentsshow 500

[–]Gellert_Grindelwald 651 points652 points ago

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You think it came as a shock when YOU found out?

[–]canislytherin 55 points56 points ago

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you so knew.

[–]r00tk1t 29 points30 points ago*

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He felt the evidence very deep inside him

[–]DrJosephMosch 8 points9 points ago

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[–]Rumbles06 8 points9 points ago

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Had my speakers to loud when I clicked it, the blood won't stop pouring from my ears.

[–]snorkeling 115 points116 points ago

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ohohoh dat name

[–]bowtieflyer 83 points84 points ago

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You two where in a relationship, read the book closely

[–]DoctorBaby 116 points117 points ago

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Yeah, not to get ridiculously nerdy on anyone, but of all people, Grindelwald would probably have been the last person to have been shocked by the revelation.

[–]Skithiryx 25 points26 points ago

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I could see Grindelwald being shocked by Dumbledore coming out to him. Granted, this would've been back a long time ago when they were kids, but I doubt it was just "I'm gay", "Me too!", "Let's make out!"

[–]roonilwazlib1 40 points41 points ago

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Well I believe what DoctorBaby is trying to say here is that it must've been on Grindelwald's radar the whole time, only helping him further to string Albus along. He most likely was manipulating him because he was aware of the feelings Dumbledore fostered for him. That way, he could continue world domination, and whatnot. That doesn't mean Dumbledore was completely innocent in this, but I do think he had ulterior motives for following Gellert. He was completely infatuated with him.

[–][deleted] 16 points17 points ago

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Were

[–][deleted] 2 points3 points ago

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I don't believe they were in an expressed relationship. Granted, the true nature was left vague and up to the reader I guess, but I feel it was more like they were drawing close but never came to that point of being actually physical.

[–]voldemortoutbitches 6 points7 points ago

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Tell me where the Elder Wand is.

[–]bill__the__butcher 13 points14 points ago

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Fuckin muggles

[–]pwncloud 2 points3 points ago

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He waited two months for this moment.

[–]JareeZy 269 points270 points ago

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Wait... So this might sound incredible stupid, but is he referencing In-Universe Dumbledore or the actor?

[–]yep45 515 points516 points ago

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The character Dumbledore. JK Rowling at one point during a press conference declared Dumbledore to be gay.

[–][deleted] ago

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[deleted]

[–]Rokket 254 points255 points ago

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My understanding is that she announced it so that the movies wouldn't add a love interest for Dumbledore, which they were thinking about doing.

[–]spvn 283 points284 points ago*

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Nope. There was actually this point during production where the writers of the movie gave Dumbledore this line about some "young girl" he used to know (you know, like implying a former love interest)

When Rowling saw the script, she laughed and told the writers "But he's gay!" and that line was taken out. This was before she had revealed to the world that Dumbledore is gay.

Unfortunately I can't remember where I read this and thus can't find sources, you're just going to have to take my word for it...

EDIT: I found my source. It's Smarag's comment. He's heard it before as well, thus it's true. So say we all.

[–]Smarag 79 points80 points ago

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I'm pretty sure I have heard this before as well.

[–]MstrKief 40 points41 points ago

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Classic case of the notgays. Gotta say something to assure the audience that the male character isn't gay! Red Letter Media's review of Star Trek 09 made this evident to me in a lot of movies http://redlettermedia.com/plinkett/star-trek/star-trek-09/

[–]Frank_JWilson 42 points43 points ago

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If the video is more than 5 minutes long, reference the exact time where the part occurs.

[–]dirtydirtnap 8 points9 points ago

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Can we revise this rule to one minute?

[–]Zeddeh 6 points7 points ago

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About 10:50 in part 2.

[–]MstrKief 4 points5 points ago

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[–]Calik 25 points26 points ago

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That video is literally almost as long as the movie.

[–]thebellmaster1x 36 points37 points ago

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I very highly recommend the Star Wars prequels reviews. They get torn apart, systematically. Very entertaining.

[–]diuge 28 points29 points ago

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At least some entertainment can finally be had from the prequels, then.

[–]Bwob 23 points24 points ago

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Also education! They get torn apart in a very instructive way, that reveals a lot about things that they could have done better to form a better narrative structure and movie.

[–]MstrKief 23 points24 points ago

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There's also ones for all the Star Wars prequels, they'll make you hate the movies on a whole new level :P

[–]CheekyMunky 7 points8 points ago

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I haven't seen this one, but someone pointed me to the Star Wars prequel critique a while back, and my first thought was also "an hour? Are you kidding me?"

Watched the whole thing and loved every minute of it. Not saying you necessarily need to yourself, just saying it's actually surprisingly good quality stuff all the way through, not just bloat.

[–]whatismypassword 13 points14 points ago

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For the people who don't have hours to waste watching all that bullshit to find the one little section you're referencing, do you mind narrowing it down a bit?

[–]alkali_h20 8 points9 points ago

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Basically, the review points out how some blatantly sexual scenes are put into movies in order to "prove" that the character isn't gay, and is therefore more relatable. Alternatively, the character can just do something outwardly badass since in movie logic "badasses aren't gay".

I believe the examples given were Sulu being a master swordsman even though he only used one once in the series due to being temporarily insane (badass). To counter his quiet and reserved nature.

Chekov being rather loud and skilled with the transporter (badass).

Bones outwardly saying he was left by his wife and was left only with his "Bones" even though the name was actually derived from a old name for Doctors. This was to counter the fact that he hangs out with Kirk the whole time and is never seen hitting on a woman. Basically, it proves he is not attracted to Kirk.

Finally, Spock is reserved cold and distant. This may lead people to believe that he is difficult to relate to. So to make him more relatable (and less gay), the tack on a relationship with Uhura.

In all, I think the assessment is somewhat incorrect. Being in a relationship definitely makes one more relatable, and having that relationship be strait is far easier for an audience to accept. However, I am willing to bet it could work with a homosexual relationship if written right.

The one with Bones was rather spot on though.

[–]MstrKief 9 points10 points ago

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I did a lot of skipping to make you happy; 10:40 in the second video, although you should watch the whole thing :P

[–]fool_of_a_took 2 points3 points ago

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The fuck does it even matter if he's gay? That part is totally irrelevant to the role Dumbledore played in the story.

[–]average_red 4 points5 points ago

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I saw her talking about this in the special features of my Deathly Hallows II disc - there was a sit-down where she and Daniel Radcliffe interviewed each other, and she told this anecdote. I believe she had pinned him as gay in her mind early on in the writing of the books, but never brought it up as it didn't really mean any more than Sirius Black's or Dolores Umbridge's sexual orientations (my words).

[–]contrary-wise 98 points99 points ago

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Oh my God! That would have been atrocious!

[–]Tpex 23 points24 points ago

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Couldn't have ruined the story any more could they?

[–]contrary-wise 40 points41 points ago

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Probably not! What is it with movies and adding in romances everywhere and leaving out the births of children (Teddy Lupin)!

[–]Indoorsman 42 points43 points ago

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Which is absolute shit. Lupin's child was an important symbol of a child that suffered a similar fate to Harry, but because of all the protagonists' struggles, he wouldn't have to grow up in such a dangerous conflicted world, and would be surrounded by people he loved, not stuck with disgusting abusive relatives. He is meant to show how much really changed in the world. But no, let's slap some wigs on people and get this 19 years later rolling.

[–]Overeacting 7 points8 points ago

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They mentioned him, at least.

[–]jorellh 7 points8 points ago

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$$

[–][deleted] 23 points24 points ago

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It's a shame they didn't add a love interest, Harry Potter could have been a major blockbuster. Oh, wait.

[–]Tiarlynn 14 points15 points ago

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She first announced it during a Q&A session. A young reader asked her about why Dumbledore never married or if he had ever been in love.

[–]steviemcfly 8 points9 points ago

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I don't know about that. It was pretty obvious that there was something going on with Grindelwald in his flashbacks. And the movies were all more or less accurate, so throwing in a huge change like that seems unlikely.

[–]Vaginal_Tractor 22 points23 points ago

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It adds to the plot. He was a brilliant young man with a secret. When he met Gellert Grindelwald, he was was so enamored with him that he ignored his family.

[–]archersparadox 11 points12 points ago

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I can't pay attention to your comment or its validity. Instead, I'm thinking about how your name means you plow. Good show, man.

[–]Vivalayeo 2 points3 points ago

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Yes, it shows that Dumbledore is human just like the rest of us and he was not always so wise

[–]ThePieOfSauron 447 points448 points ago

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It did in the 7th book; completely changes the dynamic of Dumbledore's relationship with Grindewald.

[–]DoesNotTalkMuch 406 points407 points ago

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Does it though? It seemed as though Dumbledore loved Grindewald anyway, if not sexually then at least through a strong friendship and their mutual admiration. It adds a bit of weight to the emotional significance of the conflict but it's not central to anything. I'd assume that's why it wasn't brought up.

[–]ThePieOfSauron 127 points128 points ago

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She didn't really make their conflict plot-centric, but the difference between two rivals fighting and two former lovers fighting is huge. It makes it so much more significant that Dumbledore was the one to finish him off in their duel, and makes you wonder a lot more about how much it was really based on their respective prowess.

[–]pingveno 44 points45 points ago

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It also gives Dumbledore more of a human element. A good chunk of the last book is spent going over Dumbledore as a human. Giving Dumbledore a love interest is an important part of that, even if Rowling couldn't put it into a Harry Potter book.

It also makes things more interesting for slash fiction writers. What do you do when the figure is already gay?

[–]SeeU 4 points5 points ago

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Write him like you normally would. Slash isn't about making characters ooc, it's just pairing same sex characters for whatever reason (the relationship is canon, percieved sexual tension etc).

[–]twelvefortyAM 167 points168 points ago

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finish him off

Heh.

[–]NickWasHere09 36 points37 points ago

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too bad it wasn't a happy ending

[–]HitTheGymAndLawyerUp 61 points62 points ago

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Two wizards battling each other with their wands out, shooting magical stuff from the tip? How did nobody pick up on that until now?

[–]AcidPT 16 points17 points ago

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Can... not unread

[–]dmmagic 14 points15 points ago

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It also helps explain why it took Dumbledore five years before he finally faced Grindelwald. It doesn't make as much sense why he delayed so long without knowing they (may have) had a romantic relationship.

[–]StoryGopher 12 points13 points ago

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While I agree with you a devil's advocate would suggest that Dumbledore was afraid Grindelwald would reveal at last who killed Ariana. How painful.

[–]Spudface 5 points6 points ago

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That was the reason he gave in the book, I think it is a mixture of the two reasons.

[–]seeasea 4 points5 points ago

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It was a one way love.

[–]StoryGopher 10 points11 points ago

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Grindlewald pretty much went quietly when Dumbledore confronted him and in the end he tried to protect Dumbledore when Voldey came a knockin.

[–]doubly_depressed 8 points9 points ago

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Hey, that's a great point. Much of the series revolves how love is transformative. Grindlewald (although knowing he was going to die anyway) did not try to barter his life for Dumbledore's secret. Not something a dark wizard would have done. That act does point to Grindlewald and Dumbledore having a relationship beyond simply Grindlewald manipulating Dumbledore.

[–]Jazzertron 153 points154 points ago

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You should talk more. 10 points to Gryffindor!

[–]DoesNotTalkMuch 85 points86 points ago

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What I'm not even in Gryffindor, this game is totally rigged.

[–]poompt 64 points65 points ago

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Don't talk back, 10 points from Gryffindor!

[–]DoesNotTalkMuch 36 points37 points ago

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ಠ_ಠ

[–][deleted] 65 points66 points ago

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Dude stop commenting you're gonna make us lose more points

[–]Supertycoon 8 points9 points ago

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It's funny how nobody noticed overeacting's username.

[–]RedditCommentAccount 19 points20 points ago

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Nope. Dumbledore is definitely down with the 8½'' holly and unicorn hair wand if you know what I mean.

[–]superlambchops 10 points11 points ago

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Do you also have a RedditLinkAccount with no comment karma?

[–]DoesNotTalkMuch 2 points3 points ago

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My comment account far surpasses yours.

[–]StoryGopher 6 points7 points ago

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I think his love blinded him to Grindelwald's growing detachment from morality and humanity. He was blinded until Aberforth was Crucio'd and Ariana died. Now suddenly "for the greater good" had faces and personalities and it wasn't so simple. The shock... the hood was pulled away and when he saw Grindelwald in such a flawed and human light his heart was broken. Especially considering Grindelwald fled. He abandoned Dumbledore. His Dad, his Mom, and now his first true intellectual equal of his age, his summer love. Its tragic. It explains why Dumbledore was so mysterious and impersonal to everyone. He felt he was alone and no one in the world would understand him (Read: Harry's rant after Sirius died, whole new light) and he wouldn't touch another's heart with a ten foot pole because it would kill him to love and lose again.

[–]seydar 34 points35 points ago

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It's like what the Silmarillion is to LOTR. The fact that Tom Bombadil's wife is an angel adds nothing to the story. I'd even claim that Tom Bombadil himself adds nothing to the story.

[–]theghostofme 57 points58 points ago

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Tolkien's works are an entirely different beast, though. They were as much his own exploration of the world he created as they were about telling of that world's conflicts. I always got the impression that he was just as much an audience member as we were, passionately enjoying his creations as they came to fruition. This might explain the level of detail of, well, everything. I love his works, though, so don't take this as a criticism.

[–]kuoushi 36 points37 points ago

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I think Tom Bombadil actually does add a bit to the story. He's there to show you that not everything in Middle Earth can be swayed by the power of the ring. Sure, it's kind of a long portion to add that little bit of information, but that's how I've always read the Bombadil portions.

Also, it was for Tolkien to add more songs.

[–]grelphy 20 points21 points ago

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IIRC, Bombadil was there utterly without explanation (seriously, nothing out of the incredibly volumes of lore does anything to justify him; the best thought I've ever heard is that he's one of the Valar just sort of chillin', which is plausible I guess, but totally unsupported) as a nod to "there are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy"—despite how much stuff he does explain, there's still inexplicable wonders in the world.

[–]mynoduesp 20 points21 points ago

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He added nothing to the movies either.

[–]Kubaker1 18 points19 points ago

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Literally.

[–]mynoduesp 8 points9 points ago

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Visually.

[–]FrankBattaglia 7 points8 points ago

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Tom Bombadil's wife is an angel

Eh? I'm pretty sure that's not mentioned in the Silmarillion. I don't recall the Silmarillion mentioning Bombadil at all, actually, but it has been a few years since I read it last.

[–]Cavemonster 20 points21 points ago

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Let's be honest. Romantic relationships that aren't absolutely central to plot are mentioned in youth fiction plenty. Gay relationships? Not so much.

"Why it wasn't brought up" clearly has more to do with the marketing interests in a world where homophobia is mainstream.

[–]thebellmaster1x 11 points12 points ago

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I feel like they had the Frodo/Sam thing going on. Not master-servant-wise, but love-wise. The thing is, there's a certain temporal cultural relativism that's going on. My guess is, in the 40s, people just saw Frodo and Sam as very devoted friends; today, a lot of people get gay vibes off them, especially from the movies. Likely the same thing with Dumbledore and Grindelwald, but she's decided to make it explicitly clear that Dumbledore was gay as opposed to just in a strong, friendly bond. Maybe so people don't try searching for subtext, and speculating? Iunno.

[–]Rumblemuffin 48 points49 points ago

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Well except that in the LotR books, the vibe you're meant to get from the Frodo/Sam relationship is definitely one of master and servant. You'll notice that even at the very end, Sam still calls Frodo "Master Frodo" and when they return to the Shire, the Gaffer asks Frodo if Sam "performed admirably." In one way, this is simply reminiscent of the lingering class structure in England at the time of Tolkien's youth. But if you look at it from another angle, the idea of Sam "the servant" being the real hero of the story, screams Christian theology.This theme crops up again and again in Tolkien, so I get kind of annoyed when people try to bypass the master/servant relationship in LotR - it's key to understanding how Frodo and Sam relate to each other.

[–]Maester_May 15 points16 points ago

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I always looked at it as a knight and his squire sort of relationship.

[–]thebellmaster1x 6 points7 points ago

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No, I understand, I just mean to bypass it in this context specifically, i.e. the master-servant relationship doesn't apply in an analogy to Dumbledore and Grindelwald.

[–]Indoorsman 14 points15 points ago

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Dumbledore and Grinelwald did play Master-Servant quite often though.

[–]TitaniumShovel 9 points10 points ago

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"British actor Jamie Campbell Bower portrays the young Gellert Grindelwald in the film adaptations of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, whereas Michael Byrne portrays the character as an old man. Bower has stated that he believes his character to be gay, and has referred to Toby Regbo, who portrays the teenage Dumbledore, as his 'on-screen lover.'"

~Source with sources.

(Not terribly relevant to the argument, just a fun factoid.)

[–]SamZR 5 points6 points ago

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Why don't I remember Grindelwald being in any of the movies? If I remember correctly, they cut that whole story out and only included a brief mention of Ariana Dumbledore.

[–]MdmeLibrarian 10 points11 points ago

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He's only mentioned by name once or twice before the seventh movie(s). You do see him in memories. He's the young wizard who stole the Elder Wand and leapt out the window, and he's the one who Voldemort busted into jail for question about it. He told Voldemort that Dumbledore had the wand.

[–]AnnieIWillKnow 7 points8 points ago

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Did you know that whilst performing the stunt in which Grindelwald jumps out of the window, Jamie Campbell Bower broke his ankle? It's always made me chuckle considering it was more or less the only thing he had to do.

[–]Arketan 64 points65 points ago

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Does it have to? Should characters only be gay if it relates to the plot?

[–]spaceylacey83 26 points27 points ago

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My gay friends refuse to add to my plot. The best I've ever gotten was a pair of drawn on Cher eyebrows. Am I doing it wrong?

[–][deleted] ago

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[deleted]

[–]TheLastMan 61 points62 points ago

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It also explained why he was gone so often. Gay bar. I wanna take you to the gay bar.

[–]dxdtraptor 16 points17 points ago

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let's start a war, start a nuclear war

[–]Myrkull 15 points16 points ago

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at the gay bar, gay bar, gay bar.

[–]gilleain 7 points8 points ago

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[–]IdiothequeAnthem 11 points12 points ago

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Which is why it wasn't in the books; it's a bit of illuminating info for those who care about knowing the details

[–]bubbatully 70 points71 points ago

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Homosexuality does not have to be a plot point. The heterosexuality of many of the other characters did not add to the plot.

[–]DoesNotTalkMuch 42 points43 points ago

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Not true: Snape, Harry, Ron and their respective heterosexual attractions were all huge plot points.

Sexuality is also mildly relevant to Dumbledores backstory, but sexuality doesn't fit the theme of the character (as a mentor).

Although, I don't think Lupin's sexuality really fits his theme either but Rowling awkwardly shoehorned a relationship into the story for him anyway.

[–]Sleepy_One 26 points27 points ago

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Apparently every time Lupin and Tonks were in the room together, for all of the books, she phased their names together (without commas). So not exactly shoehorned, but certainly snuck in.

[–]Support_HOOP 11 points12 points ago

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I am going to have to go through/reread the books to see if this is true. Until then, you keep my upvote

[–]KaiG1987 3 points4 points ago

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What do you mean, phased their names together?

[–]Sleepy_One 3 points4 points ago

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phrased*.

LIke... she's say a list of people and always group them as in (this is not legitimate) "fleur, bill, remus and tonks, ron...."

[–]h00pla 2 points3 points ago

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The people in the room were Bill, Charlie, Snape, Lupin and Tonks, Kingsley, and George.

[–]DoesNotTalkMuch 2 points3 points ago

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I don't think the relationship contributes to their dynamic (like bill and fleur's do)

[–]texting_and_scones 2 points3 points ago*

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Actually, I read somewhere where someone counted all the times Lupin and Tonks were grouped together and all the times Lupin and Sirius were grouped together, and Sirius won by a whole lot. It was pretty funny, mostly because I like the whole idea of Sirius/Remus and JK Rowling said that it never happened. But it so did.

Edit: Here's the link.

[–]Tmdean 43 points44 points ago

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"Many", not "every single".

[–]anyalicious 23 points24 points ago

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So because Dumbledore was a mentor, he couldn't have had serious heartbreak in his life? He was in love with Grindlewald, that much is clear. He was betrayed by his first love, and it made him more aware of how powerful love can be.

And it doesn't have to be a plot point, it is an aspect of his character that was good to know. What is all this "fitting the theme" that you're going on about? Are people not allowed to have relationships or wants and desires if they are teachers?

[–]rascal_red 2 points3 points ago

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Sexuality is also mildly relevant to Dumbledores backstory, but sexuality doesn't fit the theme of the character (as a mentor).

Why should mentor characters be portrayed as effectively nonsexual?

[–]FlexorCarpiUlnaris 6 points7 points ago

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Nor did it detract from it.

[–]Only_A_Username 7 points8 points ago

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It shouldn't have to add to the plot. It's just something that is.

[–]Supertrinko 5 points6 points ago

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Probably why she didn't mention it in the books.

[–]LORDJEW_VAN_CUNTFUCK 2 points3 points ago

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Hence why it's never mentioned in the books. It's not like she held the press conference just to announce he's gay. It was because of rumours and questions because one time she said that she "always thought of Dumbledore as gay".

[–]AdonisChrist 2 points3 points ago

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Doesn't need to. In fact, I'd say that's why she didn't explicitly mention it in the books. It's a nice detail to know and gives insight into his character but it's hardly an integral plot point.

[–]Dexiro 7 points8 points ago

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Yup and that's why it wasn't mentioned in the books :3

But I think it's nice that we can have a character be gay without it being a defining feature in any way.

[–]ProfSeverusSnape 13 points14 points ago

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If I remember didn't the producers or something of the movies want to add a love story between Dumbledore and one of the teachers and she just off handedly said that he was gay and then the story of that leaked so she mentioned it in the press conference?

[–]secsight 10 points11 points ago

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It was just mentioned during a fan Q&A session when someone asked about Dumbledore's love life. It wasn't really an "announcement" at a press conference or anything

[–][deleted] 2 points3 points ago

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She announced it at a talk in Carnegie Hall, New York.

[–][deleted] 43 points44 points ago

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The in-universe Dumbledore. He was in love with Grindelwald.

[–]AmishWhore 22 points23 points ago

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Serious question, how did Dumbledore beat Grindelwald in their duel when Grindelwald had the elder wand? Still don't understand that

[–][deleted] 156 points157 points ago

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Magic.

[–]anyalicious 27 points28 points ago

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Dumbledore was a better, stronger wizard. It is as if Grindelwald had an AK-47 and Dumbledore had a handgun. Yes, Grindelwald had a better weapon, but Dumbledore could wield his better. But note that he didn't kill Grindelwald and yet still got the Elder Wand. It is entirely possible he managed to disarm Grindelwald early on and used the Elder Wand for the rest of the fight.

[–]ubboater 13 points14 points ago

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Like Malfoy disarmed Dumbledore.

[–]anyalicious 12 points13 points ago

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Exactly. The Elder Wand is a fickle friend.

[–]coloroftheskye 48 points49 points ago

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dumbledore was the better wizard? Elder wand isnt unbeatable, thats a myth

[–]ThisRiverisWild 14 points15 points ago

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Aliens.

[–]GingerSnap01010 6 points7 points ago

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Power of love or something?

[–]ThePieOfSauron 17 points18 points ago

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There were 2 different actors that played Dumbledore: Richard Harris (who died while filming Prisoner of Azkaban) and Michael Gambon

[–]colossus16 68 points69 points ago

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The first was way better. I still can't believe the way Dumbledore treated Harry in Goblet of Fire.

[–]cookedbread 22 points23 points ago

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Dude, don't even bring up that movie.

There is only one movie in my life that I have walked out on, and that is the newest Around the world in 80 days. But Goblet of Fire was almost my second when they introduced the other schools.

Which is a shame because the book is one of my favorites of the series.

[–]The-GentIeman 5 points6 points ago

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Dumbledore jokes start around 1:12

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7KGuRvdr5M

[–][deleted] 3 points4 points ago

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That was all sorts of wrong. He got better after that, though.

[–]Zeppelanoid 45 points46 points ago

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There were 2 different actors that played Dumbledore: Richard Harris (who died while filming Prisoner of Azkaban) and MICHAEL DE GAMBOM, HARRY!!!!!!!!!!!!

FTFY

[–]catchingpavements 28 points29 points ago

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"Did you put your name into the Goblet of Fire, Harry?" he asked calmly.

I read somewhere that Gambon hadn't even read the books, which can kind of explain the weird characterization, but it's not a good excuse.

[–]Zeppelanoid 31 points32 points ago

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The worst part is that Harris nailed it so well. He was the perfect Dumbledore.

[–]Radico87 35 points36 points ago

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...yes, Michael Gambon is a gay wizard in real life.

[–]ThePieOfSauron 390 points391 points ago

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Yer a flamer, Harry!

[–]ChastityPanda 106 points107 points ago

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Yer a fluffer, Harry!

[–][deleted] ago

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[–][deleted] ago

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[–]8rightnow 53 points54 points ago

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I'm a wot?

[–]yaredw 19 points20 points ago

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YER A FLAMER, HARRY!

[–]patmcdoughnut 20 points21 points ago

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And a thumpin' good'n, I'd wager

[–]marievska 6 points7 points ago

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I'm a flamer?

[–]wowlolcat 216 points217 points ago

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Hrm I don't actually think anyone was outraged. This seems to be a case of where the comedian states a false public reaction to set up his own joke. A lot of comedians do this, but often times its an exaggeration of the truth to serve the joke, not a blatant lie.

[–][deleted] 78 points79 points ago

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This bothered me too. I haven't heard any fans who seemed surprised or upset from finding out Dumbledore was gay.

[–]Calik 123 points124 points ago

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It wasn't the fans that had a problem with it it was the people that were already nutty and burning potter books for being anti christian.

[–]Ziddletwix 34 points35 points ago

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Although, even with this, the joke doesn't make any sense. I realize that it is a joke, if it makes people laugh, it did its job. But it really doesn't make sense. Even the people who were outraged about dumbledore being gay... at what point was "believing" that he's a wizard come into play? he is comparing two asimilar things. People who were surprised that Dumbledore is gay believed that the FICTIONAL character was a wizard, not that dumbledore is a real person. So in this fictional world, it is NOT odd for someone to believe someone is a wizard, while being unsure if Dumbledore whether Dumbledore is gay. He's comparing what people believe about the fictional world... and then acting as if they actually believe it.

And obviously fans were never upset about this. Sure, in some basements I'm sure it annoyed some homphobes, but while maybe some fans were surprised (after you know a character for 8 books, hearing that he's gay out of the blue is a bit surprising if you didn't expect it), but comparing believing in wizards and believing in a fictional character being gay is just stupid.

[–]Calik 11 points12 points ago

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Seven books, I disagree only in as far as it's like playing Final Fantasy and a character dies in a cutscene and everyplayer is just like "Why don't they use a phoenix down" it's just noticing a weird disconnect. We might find it hard to believe Link could really jump off death mountain and survive the fall but we don't question it at all when he does die and gets brought back to life by fairy dust.

[–]r3m0t 2 points3 points ago

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Hey, when a Final Fantasy character dies in a cutscene, they die in real life.

[–]anyalicious 18 points19 points ago

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Fans weren't upset; the media made a big deal out of it. Lots of Christians coming out and saying, 'Well, I never!' and whatnot.

[–]shitterplug 13 points14 points ago

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So about that airplane food...

[–]tomtom18 14 points15 points ago

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I actually don't mind airplane food...

[–]luva 3 points4 points ago

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My mother-in-law is a huge HP fan and a fairly conservative Christian. Not book-banning conservative, but she believes that homosexuality is a sin and 'against God's plan', and is against equal rights for gay people.

She was extremely upset by this. Not exactly 'outraged', but she saw it as a blatant pandering to the gay-loving media, and she basically didn't include it in her mental canon because "gay people shouldn't be allowed to be teachers anyway, it's too much of a temptation for them to be around kids." o_o

[–]alcoholisafoodgroup 2 points3 points ago

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My mom was the same way about the teacher thing, except her reasoning was that it was a "bad example". The irony was that I had a great deal of respect for my biology teacher who was a lesbian. She was a great, no-nonsense teacher who was damn smart and made us earn our grade in the midst of the shitty public school system we had that would pass morons. Bad example, indeed.

[–]AnalogDan 3 points4 points ago

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I don't read Harry Potter and I remember hearing about Dumbledore being gay on the news. So, I don't think the comedian is exaggerating much.

[–][deleted] ago

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[deleted]

[–]Fourbits 29 points30 points ago

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How many fundamentalist Christians are Harry Potter fans?

[–][deleted] ago

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[deleted]

[–][deleted] 60 points61 points ago

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Uh, clearly this guy has never seen HP slash fan fics and art...

I'm pretty sure that a significant portion of Potter fans are more than a little bit aware that gay wizards might be a possibility. Just might be.

[–]del_rio 5 points6 points ago

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[–]Replies_With_GIFs 12 points13 points ago

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[–]spacedude86 3 points4 points ago

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Redditor for 5 days? I approve this novelty account.

[–]wianno13 46 points47 points ago

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Enlistment policy of Dumbledore's Army: don't ask, don't tell

[–]penguindog 24 points25 points ago

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I've been more concerned with Ron becoming a hot ginger.

[–]Frank_JWilson 27 points28 points ago

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Good thing he turned out to be average looking.

[–]HotRodLincoln 8 points9 points ago

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Bonnie Wright on the other hand...

[–]pricklypete[S] 80 points81 points ago*

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This is comedian Ted Alexandro (I first heard him as an opener for Louis CK). Full clip

[–]ANatale 8 points9 points ago

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I love this guy. I saw him and heard this same joke at the stress factory in New Brunswick, NJ.

[–]jingerjew 4 points5 points ago

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Thank you for linking to the actual clip.

[–]pricklypete[S] 3 points4 points ago

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You got it. Glad Ted is getting some recognition.

[–]Biased_Dumbledore 10 points11 points ago

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some people, I tell ya

also, 50 points to Gryffindor

[–]loveshercoffee 20 points21 points ago

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If anyone here recalls from the seventh book, it was a part of the story in which Rita Skeeter was tossing around accusations in her book insinuating that there was something inappropriate about Dumbledore's relationship with Harry. Given Rowling's well-known views with regard to the tabloid press and to narrow-minded people, it seems she was writing about exactly how the revelation of Dumbledore's sexuality would be treated in the real life world.

OH NOES THE GAYS! THINK OF THE CHILDREN!

[–]RosieJo 6 points7 points ago

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To be fair I think most fans of Harry Potter were largely open to the idea of Dumbledore being gay, mostly because of his bromantic relationship with Grindelwald...

[–][deleted] 5 points6 points ago

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There was porn before the announcement.

[–]zwrench 9 points10 points ago

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Who is this comedian?/Any youtube clips of this standup?

[–]VillaVulpes 5 points6 points ago

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Ted Alexandro

[–]B0Boman 9 points10 points ago

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Wizards don't exist, huh? Nice try, Ministry of Magic's Muggle Ignorance Division.

[–]kentan523 6 points7 points ago

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He was my music teacher when I was in kindergarten.

[–]pricklypete[S] 3 points4 points ago

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You're the first person to mention that Ted was their music teacher. elbeerock was second. Perhaps you were classmates..?

[–]elbeerock 2 points3 points ago

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I have a feeling he was my next door neighbor growing up - Kentan - older brother Derrick, younger Chris?

[–][deleted] ago

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[deleted]

[–]planterspeanuts 4 points5 points ago

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In case it hasn't been mentioned, that's comedian Ted Alexandro. I figure since sourcing the original author of a comic strip is important, might as well source the comedian. Especially since this is ultra pro OWS, meaning reddit would love him

[–]Vinicelli 21 points22 points ago

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Actually, there was a very positive fan response to this news overall. There was a uproar of cheering when she formally announced it.

[–]SnapelovesHarrysMom 9 points10 points ago

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I heard some negative responses along the lines of "Why would she say that? That's inappropriate!" - my mom.

I was pretty happy about it. How often do gay kids get a gay character in their favorite book series? And the best wizard of all time? Hell yeah!!

[–]cresteh 3 points4 points ago

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How is that a paradox?

[–]royalmarquis 2 points3 points ago

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I was actually just dumbfounded when I found out. Was Rowling really hinting at in in her books? It didn't seem so to me. Maybe others had a different reading.

[–]WarJunkie 9 points10 points ago

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Of course I can believe that he is a wizard, we have seen proof that he does magic.

But I can't believe that he is gay because I haven't seen his romantic life yet.

[–]gospelwut 2 points3 points ago

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How do get an A on any English essay:

Insinuative a character and/or the author are homosexuals.

[–]ClassicSack 2 points3 points ago

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I was upset. His fashion sense was horrible.

[–]Erthale 2 points3 points ago

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I don't like this because it implies that wizards don't exist. What an ignorant assumption

[–]RGT42 17 points18 points ago

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Probably because there's plenty of proof of Dumbledore doing magic while there's probably little to no proof of homosexuality.

[–][deleted] 15 points16 points ago

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There's no proof of his heterosexuality either.

[–]RGT42 12 points13 points ago

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Very true. I was just showing that there's no reason to assume anything about his sexuality to answer his question. Rhetorical, I know.

[–][deleted] 4 points5 points ago

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I have no issue with characters being gay. The only issue I took was, I didn't feel like it was ever evident in the story. So when JK Rowling came out of no where and said he was gay - as an after fact, I just found it contrived.

It's kind of like a retcon for me.