Drag Queen Praises ‘Pale and Horny’ Teen in Disney+ Show ‘Love, Victor’

Disney+ premiered its third and final season last week. Victory is in the Heart, a sexually charged gay teen series. The series routinely romanticizes high school boys exploring homosexuality while in adult male settings.

The show’s overt LGBTQUIA+ content originally premiered only on Hulu, but this year Disney decided to premier the entire series on both Hulu and the more child-oriented Disney+ streaming service. 

“We’re excited to be on Disney+. This expands our reach in an exciting way. Disney+ is a huge platform,” Love, Victor’sBrian Tanen, head writer and executive producer told Indiewire.

Disney should rename Pride Month to “Groomer Appreciation Month” since it’s the final season. Victory is in the HeartThis encourages inappropriate interactions between children and adults. It also insults the beliefs of major world religions and even makes a joke in one episode of risky homosexual promiscuity involving teen boys. 

Previous seasons included high school minors going to adult gay bars and this season was no different. This time high school teenager Victor (Michael Cimino) meets his ex-boyfriend and fellow high schooler Benji (George Sear) for bingo night at a drag bar in the episode “Lucas and Diego.”

“Lucas and Diego” are fake names the boys use on their gay dating apps. Both boys initially think they are meeting an anonymous male they texted through the app, not knowing it’s really their ex. Victor lied about his age on the app, saying he was twenty-two. Having the teens on the show lie about their ages on homosexual dating sites is glossed over as no big deal. 

The bar’s adult drag queen compliments Benji, after he has won a bingo game.

Drag Queen: I love 69 as well, but that’s an entirely different game. (Laughter )

Victor: Okay, Lucas. Which major did you choose?

Benji: Music.

Victor: Oh. My ex-boyfriend is a musician.

Benji: Mm. Sounds dreamy.

Victor: Yes. He is very dreamy. He was also my first boyfriend. You know what?

Drag Queen: B8! Don’t you ask me my weight!

Victor: Uh, were you able to find someone like this?

Benji: Nah. I only date duds. 

Drag queen: N2! Honey, N2 is me for anyone N2ing me. You don’t think that beggars could ever choose between you and me? (Laughter )

Benji: Bingo!

Drag Queen: Oh! Damn! (siren, applause) (cheering) You can get your very young tush up right now! Here’s a reward for you. You look so much better in person. Your face is like a teenage film vampire. All pale and hоrny.This is your chance to win (giggles and cheering).

Tanen, the show’s producer, is clearly aware that he’s dealing with with characters who are still kids, but that fact only encourages him.

“But at the end of the day, as you’re saying: Yes, they are still kids,” he told Indiewire. They have a lot to learn, and we keep coming back to this idea. To learn and grow, they must be able to overcome difficult circumstances.

Prior to this episode, Victor had quickie sexual encounters with a promiscuous boy named Nick (Nico Greetham), who he met through his parents’ new “open” church. Victor’s mother made a remark about a Catholic priest in season 2 for failing to accept her son’s active homosexuality. They meet regularly in semi-public places and Victor boasts to friends that Nick and he “hook up” in Victor’s little sister’s playhouse, while the rest of his family were at home.

After worrying he got a sexually-transmitted disease from Nick, Victor is relieved to find out it’s just poison ivy on his penis from getting naked outside under a neighbor’s porch.  His straight friend Felix (Anthony Turpel), tells Victor to put some cream on it and go back outside. Felix’s former girlfriend from previous seasons is now dating another female. 

Last season focused on the Catholic faith. This season, however, is focused more on Islam. In the episode “It’s You,” the mother of Victor’s gay Muslim friend Rahim (Anthony Keyvan) encourages him when he uses his Muslim prayer beads (tasbih) to pray for a boyfriend.

Mother: Morning. I noticed your tasbih at your dresser. Is there anyone praying at night?

Rahim: Yes, Maman. It didn’t work, however. It’s not a good idea to pray that a boy will show up. It’s a major Muslim offense.?

Mother: I pray every day to God for the birth of a son when I was pregnant. God provided me with the most precious gift in my entire life. Your brother Nasser. Okay, Rahim. It may not seem like it right now but God does have a plan. That plan also includes someone who loves you unconditionally. This is how it works.

A script in which a Muslim male teen uses prayer beads, shown earlier on his desk, to ask God for a boyfriend was definitely not on my Disney bingo card.

Tanen claims he had hoped for it Victory is in the Heart to explore the experiences of a “queer person of color,” but whether it’s Rahim’s Iranian Muslim family or Victor’s Latino Catholic family, the writers seem determined to merely stamp their own LGBTQUIA agenda onto different cultural backgrounds, not really explore those backgrounds with any honesty. A character that doesn’t celebrate homosexuality without rushing to do so is simply dismissed as homophobe. 

All things considered, this series should not be encouraged for “family-friendly” audiences. Its boyish-looking star and happy, light-hearted opening music give it the appearance of an innocent tween show. But with its troubling content and tendency to wink at boundaries between adults and minors, it is anything but harmless.