Jared Padalecki disappointed a lot of fans, and the LGBTQ+ community, during the latest Supernatural panel at Denver Con 2021 after getting into a rant concerning Destiel’s romantic love.
The first Supernatural convention in almost two years should have marked a happy occasion for any fan. The main actors joined the panel, almost a year after Supernatural ended.
But it wasn’t a happy occasion for a lot of fans, and many were actually left disappointed.
During the panel, Jared Padalecki bluntly offended the LGBTQ+ community, which wasn’t something we were expecting.
Let’s take a break here for more context. Supernatural featured two strong males, who were on the road for fifteen years hunting monsters. And drove a Chevrolet Impala. Can it get more macho than that?
But for years, ever since Misha Collins joined the cast, people have been shipping Dean Winchester and Castiel (Destiel) because of their strong chemistry on set. However, while Collins has always agreed with the fans and supported the Destiel theories, Ackles didn’t actually support them.
After receiving a question about Destiel, here’s when the mess started. The question was “When did you know that Castiel loved Dean in a romantic, like deep love, way?”
Jensen Ackles wasn’t as problematic, but things like “I don’t think Dean really knew until the very end there” and “I never played Dean that way,” is an insult to years of subtext between Dean and Castiel, and a lot of people thought he did play him that way.
But the most surprising thing was that Padalecki interfered and barely let Ackles answer the question that was addressed to him. Instead, added that angels are “junkless” (which is a debunked theory since angels and humans created Nephilims), and shifted the love conversation to lust and sleeping with each other. He added that while both have seemingly male bodies, saying ‘I love you’ doesn’t mean they want to sleep with each other. He also added that is not a show about “incest.” Which… wow. At this, Ackles added that Dean’s connection to Castiel was “heavenly,” and there was no way to describe it.
Another problematic example in Jared Padalecki’s rant was that he compared the two character’s relationship to him saying “I love you” to his son, and that doesn’t mean he wants to physically do something with him.
Jensen didn’t do so much damage, but didn’t really come out as brave to many people, either. While it’s unlike him to stand up directly to Padalecki, the actor barely got a chance to answer the question. But we know all too well that he’s been trying to deny the Destiel ship for years, but he stands as a supporter of the LGBTQ+ community as well.
However, some fans weren’t as happy with his answer when he received the question “How would Dean have reacted if Jack was a girl?” he replied: “The same. Do we even know what Jack identifies as?” He added: “I don’t think anything would’ve changed. I don’t think of a storyline that would’ve been affected by gender. Which it shouldn’t.” But he did put his foot in his mouth when he added that “Dean might have had extra glances at him had he been a girl. But that’s Dean’s problem.”
Taking into account that Jared Padalecki has openly shared he’s a supporter of the LGBTQ+ community, the comments he did during the convention don’t really show that.
Of course Supernatural was more than a show about ships. But relationships were a big part of the show, be it romantic or platonic, and Padalecki’s clear dismiss of a gay ship is part of the problem.
Strong disagree. Ackles was trying to talk about romanticism and profundity of it and Padalecki kept steamrolling in and went on a 3 minute homophobic rant. Ackles’ patch job at the end isn’t great, but at least his is buttressed in aged queer dialogue that’s dated. Not whatever the fuck that 5 intersection queerphobic rant of Padalecki’s was. Ackles also has his LGBTQ company on the line, contracted to the same company that the convention he was standing at was, and a pissing match there would be one hot way to get their entire operation terminated and people losing their jobs. People want to play this in absolutism but nah. Padalecki’s the one who went into the giant ass homophobic rant. Ackles just wasn’t bold enough for people. These two aren’t the same and shouldn’t be treated as such categorically. One’s a black mark, one’s… maybe a learning opportunity, if we erase the context of why he’d be limited. Jensen visibly stroked out while Jared was running his mouth to the point his eyes popped and it’s a viral meme. So let’s really highlight the balances here instead of pretending first emotional impulse is correct
Hey M, thank you for your comment, and you’re right. I’ll edit the article accordingly.
…I did not mean to post that in a few areas so if you want to delete the duplicate by all means
This is a refreshing response in a digital culture prone to doubling down defensively, thank you for considering.
While you got the part that jared did correctly you forgot to mention he inserted himself into a question that was not meant for him when he went on his homophobic rant. I also think that by saying dean didnt know until the moment cas said it to him, jensen said nothing wrong. And maybe you should add that after jared had his whole “the show is not about incest” mantrum moment jensen said that he thought cas’s love for dean was heavenly, that there were no word to discribe it, that while romance might be closest to what we humans can precieve that it was so much more than that! And last but not least, i really hope that one day these men will be judged seperatly because they are not one person, they are 2 persons with 2 very different opinions, cause if you really watch it you can see the journey that jensen face makes, and the way he storms off at the end of the panel which shows how happy he was with jareds comments.
Hi K, good point. I think he was just as surprised as the rest of us. I mean, the Destiel questions are definitely nothing new for any of them, but Jared simply took over the question. The whole thing was very out of character for me.
I don’t know Monica from adam but I want to protect her.
Thank you for taking the time to reply and for being open to the feedback you get!
Thank you for kindly pointing out what was missing in such a calm, respectful manner 🙂 I appreciated both of your comments today, it really shows this is a great fandom despite recent events.
Can we PLEASE stop equating the whole global LGBTQIA+ community with a minority of extreme SPN-shippers?! That’d be great.
Thanks, a member of the LGBTQIA+ community. Who happens to love SPN and hates shipping and the deluded drama that ensues every 15 seconds due to it. And who doesn’t feel offended over Destiel-drama or interpretations of said fictional relationship, platonic, romantic or otherwise…
Also, can we at least acknowledge that no matter the subtext and what a minority – if very vocal – subsection of fans “believe” they see and interpret, the ACTOR PLAYING THE ROLE, the DIRECTOR DIRECTING and THE WRITERS WRITING IT are the actual people responsible for creating a shows CANON? That’s what canon means. Not: consensus on tumblr. That’d be great too.
If you are making it up, it’s YOUR personal head-canon, not canon. Even if 200 people on tumblr agree…
I’m not a fan of Padalecki shooting his mouth off or worse doxxing service staff and I’m not sure how much he does for LGBTQIA+ beyond the odd donation that is known. I’m not commenting on his remarks.
However can we stop slyly insinuating that Ackles – who actively supported outyouth for several years, far beyond just doing a few donations, has hired an outspoken queer activist as head of his and his wives production company, has designated his brewery in freaking Dripping Springs Trump country a safe space and advertised it as such and who played a bisexual in a m/m/f threesome voluntarily – that guy, is actually really homophobic because of things he says that are 99% about shipping fictional characters in response to oftentimes intrusive, rude and pushy fan questions? Ackles personally not wanting to screw another male or talking about it in detail does not a homophobe make.
In this situation, the writer who wrote the episode, Robert Berens, the director of the episode, Richard Speight, Jr, and the actor playing the character in question, Misha Collins, all confirmed independently that the intention was for the confession to be romantic and that Cas is a member of the lgbtq+ community. It is only Dean’s reciprocation that is “up for interpretation,” the rest IS literal canon, confirmed in exactly the way you described.
Hi! I really appreciate the edit with more accurate details and context. I was at the convention in the 4th row and have also rewatched the video several times. There’s one other piece I hope you won’t be offended if I correct, but I think it’s important. When Jensen said “I don’t think Dean knew til the end — I never played Dean that way,” he is directly replying to the question of when did he know Cas had romantic feelings, NOT to whether he was playing DEAN in love. He is saying DEAN didn’t know Cas had romantic feelings for him until the end, which I think lines up perfectly with canon, seeing how blindsided Dean was by the confession. There was no talk about Dean’s feelings one way or the other.
Thanks again for correcting the article!
Except he’s repeatedly said he never played Dean as anything but straight on top never playing into the whole Destiel thing. Literally has said “Destiel doesn’t exist”, and that Dean and Castiel’s friendship was blown out of proportion that he was glad they started having less scenes together.
Even Misha has started back tracking the things he’s said.
Agreed 🙂
SPN Destiel shippers are NOT the same as the LGBTQ community! And they do NOT represent LGBTQ Supernatural fans! Get your fact straight, unless you are a Heller then I will totally understand you purposely misrepresent us. Me as a member of the LGBTQ community, in the Supernatural fandom, was disappointed by your biased “reporting”. Please do better.
I agree with you, and it’s not an article about Destiel shippers being the LGBTQ community, but about Jared who brought up incest or pedophilia into a conversation that derived from a Destiel question, which is disappointing.
Good article, just one thing:
When Ackles said that he “didn’t play Dean that way”, he was referring to Dean not knowing that Cas loved him.
Meaning: he played Dean as being clueless about Cas’ love for him, not that he played Dean as not loving Cas.
This part has been taken out of context a lot.
No, he literally has said he doesn’t play Dean as in love with Cas. Jensen has been extremely vocal for the last decade that he plays Dean as straight, does not support Destiel, and it doesn’t exist.
I agree. Here Jensen miiiiiiiiight have commented on the fact that he “didn’t play Dean as knowing Cas loved him,” but he’s been denying Destiel for years. Despite him playing Dean showing great chemistry with Castiel. Remember the scenes when Dean purposefully looked at Cas’ lips, etc?
Your article seems to have evolved to reflect fandom input, rather than just the situation, and that concerns me enough to comment.
Please know that the fandom LGBTQUIA+ community for SPN is no more monolithic than anywhere else.
Many felt Padalecki’s comment of “love whoever you want” was affirming and the idea that the central focus of the show wasn’t romantic love spot on.
As early as Christmas of 2019 in a TV Guide interview, both guys were saying there wouldn’t be a romantic ending for either brother. At that point it offended no one.
Repeatedly since, they’ve made the point that things were left ambiguous for fans to feel free to access the art however they like. Even Misha’s comments first said that, though he’s since repeatedly answered questions on how he himself played it.
The idea that as a fan I’m absolutely free to see it how I like is also not something I consider invalidating.
It’s literally “death of the author.”
Yes, Castiel’s end felt like BYG to me, but it was written by a queer author as the end of a long story in which Cas become more true to himself. Earlier in s15, he tells Jack he always had HIMSELF. Cas goes away and comes back having found what he needs in HIMSELF.
So do I think Cas is queer? Always did.
Misha saying he played it that way affirms it, but was unnecessary.
And if the agreement was “open to interpretation” as far as Dean and Sam? Then I can manage quite well with Padalecki’s absolute that people can love whoever they want.
In follow up to this, I would ask if you would to listen again, it’s factually inaccurate that the question wasn’t addressed to both men.
The questioner asked when “YOU” knew Cas was romantically interested. It was in a J2 panel, which occurred after a Jensen only panel (and meet & greet.) She was facing both men from the mic and at first, Padalecki even asks who should go first & defers to Ackles.
He starts to answer when Ackles pauses. Again, this did not seem like an interruption to me personally and Ackles certainly has the ability to make his voice heard since they’re friends and give interviews all the time.
Junkless? Angels take a human vessel and have created nephilim, but nephilim aren’t created in heaven or the Empty. So I personally think that’s why he put in the term he did. (Which I find distasteful, but is canon in the show.) Where Cas is now located, he’s in his true form.
As to the comment about incest, I’d also suggest you rewind and listen carefully. He comments about the many kinds of love, but says immediately after Sam and Dean’s love that it’s not incest.
Period. Full stop. Paragraph.
Perhaps that’s why many queer fans didn’t react the same way, because of their angle in the audience or that they understood the intent differently. There is reason to not want a mention of that topic anywhere in the same panel/essay/room as queer discourse.
I understand that, having been taught that way myself.
I’m not heated, however, given the context.The overall point was made and made well enough that many supported him, feeling supported themselves.
I have several friends who were so hurt by his comments they’ve deactivated social media accounts and some have had to contact therapists. I think what a lot of people don’t understand is that this goes WAY beyond a ship issue. Jared compared Castiel being queer/romantically loving Dean to both incest and pedophilia, which are historically harmful comparisons made to demonize the lgbtq+ community. Not only that, but Castiel being queer is independent of the “ship”–the whole point of the scene (Jared should maybe talk to the guy who wrote it?) was that Castiel found happiness in himself and being who he was, and coming out and sharing his (romantic) love freely. The ship is secondary to the queer representation. Either way, the director (Rich Speight), the episode’s writer (Robert Berens), and the actor playing the character in question (Misha) have all independently confirmed the intention was romantic and that he’s canonically queer and in love with Dean. So Jared’s “un-queering,” whether other sections of the fandom want to admit it or not, was extremely offensive and homophobic. The rest of what he said (equating love directly with sex, as if asexual don’t exist) and the other problematic tropes I listed above, were the bigoted cherries on top. I honestly am so disappointed in him as a person and while I don’t have any delusions that he cares what I think, I truly hope someone sits him down and explains how gross what he said was.
I’m sorry to hear that, his explanation about saying I love you to his son had absolutely no place in the conversation he was having. Plus, I really didn’t feel like he had to answer that question at all. It was about Dean and Castiel, and Jared jumped in about who should answer, and ended with a huge rant.
‘and the LGBTQ+ community’ As a member of the LGBTQ+ community, I wasn’t disappointed at all. I didn’t see it as a rant either. And it wasn’t that, as some comments are claiming, he compared ‘destiel’ to pedophilia or incest, to me he was saying hey, saying I love you doesn’t have to be romantic or sexual. Like Cass’s I love you to Dean, or Dean’s I love you so much to Sam. It sounded a lot like he was saying destiel and wincest aren’t real, (which is in line with what they’ve been saying for years, so I don’t know why anyone would be surprised?) so I don’t actually get why so many people are mad. I get that there’s a lot of different people watching, and some may relate to the characters, but that doesn’t change how the story went.
Also, the ‘junkless’ theory being debunked… have you actually watched the show? Didn’t Castiel say his true form was like the size of the Chrysler building? And his true form is obviously not a human form, so yea junkless. Angels and humans creating Nephilims happens when the angel is inhabiting a human body. So the angel doesn’t have junk, the junk in question belongs to the human being inhabited by the angel. It still doesn’t make it their body or magically make them grow their own reproductive organs.
As a huge fan of the show and a member of the LGBTQ+ community, I wasn’t at all disappointed. I don’t care about little online ship wars, so maybe I’m not the intended audience of this ‘story’, but it comes off as being written by someone who very much is into online ship wars.
It is all in the context. If it is an award for Destiel chemistry, I don’t think they go “oh, I wasn’t playing that”. If it is a question at a convention, er no homo. It is perfectly in line with the show. Queerbait for fun and profit, vanish when it comes to owning it.
Haha, that’s a good explanation, and I agree. They’ve been queerbaiting for years.
The only one that’s been queerbaiting anyone, has been Misha. The less relevant he appeared on the show, the more he threw at you. The whole “For Love” shit was planned by him to sell his cheap merchandise. He knew and still knows, that he has no sellable acting skills to speak of. His book was lame and who is watching his rip-off travel/food show…..if it gets off the ground? Only his hard-core minions will, because nobody outside of SPN knows who he is. He is irrelevant, plane and simple and that just doesn’t sit well with him. His photo-ops not selling well at con gets you a grumpy has-been, that rather be anywhere else.
I dont agree, who are you to talk for all the community? A few SPN´s fans in a con or in twitter is the community?
I agree 100% with Jared in the context he said it. “You can love whoever you want” is homophobic?
He said SPN is not a romantic show and it isn’t. I am sorry SPN wasn’t never about your ship, but It has nothing to do with representation, the real fight is out there in society, not in a TV show. Iam very interested to know what you do, and it is not ironic, we need allies all around the world.
this is disgusting. the man literally said the words “love whoever you want” and people are calling him homophobic because they wanted him to say certain things about a fictional ship. he didn’t even say anything about the ship itself. it’s just not what those people wanted to hear. shipping is not activism. this is all a blatant lie and disgustingly harmful.
This isn’t about shipping at all. He took a question about Destiel and started a rant about how Castiel telling Dean I love you isn’t about having sex with him, in a very ‘no homo bro’ way. It wasn’t his place to answer the question in the first place.