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It doesn’t matter who he’s attracted to. It’s a boy, it’s a girl, it’s a donkey...


New Netflix show ‘The Umbrella Academy’ based on the comic series by My Chemical Romance's frontman Gerard Way focuses on a dysfunctional, supernaturally-gifted family reuniting after the death of their father and attempting to stop the apocalypse.

Without spoiling too much Robert Sheenan’s character Klaus likes men, something that was briefly hinted at but never confirmed in the comics. He meets and falls in love with a man named Dave in unusual circumstances to say the least and whilst it is an important part of the character’s story Sheenan doesn’t want to be defined by it.

The character is an alcoholic, drug addicted super hero who can communicate with the dead but Robert Sheenan is scared that he’ll end up known as just ‘the gay one.’ He said “It doesn’t matter who he’s attracted to. It’s a boy, it’s a girl, it’s a donkey, it’s a bus. All four perhaps, at once. But that would be an uncomfortable evening.”

Klaus is very expressive, often seen wearing skirts and crop tops and his openness helps fans to accept themselves and be who they are and whilst he is a queer character it is important that fans don’t erase the other important aspects of his character. Labelling him as simple the ‘gay one’ is ignoring everything the character has done and been through in favour of defining him solely by his sexuality.

Umbrella Academy has done a great job in giving us a wild, unique character that time travels and sees dead people and tries to save the world AND happens to be gay and that’s amazing.


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