Chris Pratt announced Marvel Studios' first trailer release of his upcoming film "Thor: Love And Thunder" on Monday and ended up being bashed by trolls simply for being a Christian.
The 42-year-old actor, who hails from Minnesota and who entered stardom by starring in television, made the announcement on Twitter with the video clip of the trailer from Marvel. Pratt plays Star-Lord in the movie together with Chris Hemsworth who plays Thor.
"So excited to finally share a bit of what the Guardians were up to down under. Thrilled to join @chrishemsworth and @TaikaWaititi on this journey. Trust me it is going to blow you away. Coming to you July 8th," Pratt said.
The trailer showed a scene where Star-Lord emphasized to his Guardians of the Galaxy family, "Remember what I told you. If you ever feel lost, just look into the eyes of the people that you love." Thor comes into the scene with his face in focus just inches away from Star-Lord's face. Then their eyes locked on each other. Star-Lord told Thor not him, to which an awkward chuckle came and a rebuttal that the latter was proving he was listening to what was said.
According to Faithwire, the scene alludes to a 2020 depiction of Star-Lord's character, Peter Quill, in the comic series "Guardians of the Galaxy" as a bisexual. Pratt, now married to his second wife, has been receiving much criticism out of being open with his Christian faith.
Christianity Daily also previously reported that Pratt was often unjustly maligned for being a Christian based on statements of renowned podcaster Joe Rogan. The podcaster said in one of his episodes that Pratt is so open about his Christian faith that he becomes an easy target for leftists and mainstream media.
Netizens were quick to take screenshots of the said scene from the Marvel trailer, pointing to the need to make it into a new meme format. One netizen captioned the scene as "best couple" and included emojis of hearts and LGBTQ+ flags with it.
While another netizen directly called Star-Lord a "bi icon." This was supported by one of Pratt's Twitter followers who pointed out, "Chris Pratt tweeting out a movie where he plays a queer character." A certain netizen also raised if Thor had a crush on Peter Quill. His post contained several screencaps of the controversial scene.
Others, on the other hand, pointed out how Pratt probably hated himself for doing the scene. Some even imagined that he vomited after the scene's taping. Those supporting the LGBTQ+ community look forward to watching the film in the hopes of it being faithful to the comic book's version.
Giant Freak In A Robot explained that controversy on Pratt started when Elliot Page criticized him through an article in Variety for attending an "infamously anti-LGBTQ" church. Pratt was labeled as a homophobe thereafter. The media outlet said Pratt's posting of the teaser might be a marketing scheme for the film even though it comes as an expense to his person.
Despite the backlash, Pratt has remained silent on the backlash in the same way he has been silent on his sexuality since 2019. The actor has been consistently quiet on issues of politics and gender identity.
Nevertheless, the criticisms thrown against Pratt appear to be targeting nothing but his being a Christian. Even Forbes senior contributor Dani Di Placido observed this, saying "Pratt, who has never spoken publicly about his political beliefs, is widely considered to be socially conservative and possibly anti-LGBT, due to his allegiance to Zoe Church."
Di Placido also noted that in comparison to Pratt, Hemsworth still enjoys the support of Marvel's fans, particularly because unlike the Christian actor, he "he keeps his beliefs, religious or otherwise, to himself."
