There are times when an author is not allowed to reveal the most intimate details of their most famous character's life within the story. The most famous example of this is Albus Dumbledore, whose orientation wasn't revealed until after Harry Potter had ended.
J.K. Rowling certainly had enough influence as an author to ensure that this detail made its way into the story, but it would have caused a lot of issues for the series as a whole, as many countries will outright ban any literature that contains references to homosexuality.
A lot of creators have wanted to include bisexual, gay, and transgender characters in their work, but have been denied this right by the people at the top. There are many executives in high-ranking positions who are worried that any sort of controversial material might affect their bottom line, so they have to make an edict that removes any references to alternate lifestyles.
We are here today to look at the times when people were forced to change the orientation of the famous fictional characters that they created.
From the X-Man who was denied the right to love men to the moment when the most infamous romantic relationship in Star Trek stopped being subtext, here are the 15 Characters Who Weren’t Allowed To Be LGBTQ!
Gambit - The X-Men
Gambit might be one of the most romantic of the X-Men. He was engaged in a long-running love story with Rogue, which was hampered by the fact that she cannot physically touch anyone.
Rogue's affections didn't stop Gambit from pursuing other love interests, though. His options were almost vastly increased by one writer, who wanted to reveal that Gambit was bisexual.
James Asmus wrote a Gambit miniseries for Marvel in 2012. He had originally intended for Gambit to sleep with a man during the story, with a later issue revealing that Gambit had once been in a relationship with a male member of the Thieves Guild that he once belonged to.
Asmus has revealed that he was told that he wouldn't be allowed to redefine Gambit as being bisexual. This was more to do with the fact that the editor felt it was a bad idea from a story perspective, rather than any concerns about it being controversial.
Kirk & Spock - Star Trek: The Original Series
A popular subject among early Star Trek fan fiction writers was the idea that Captain Kirk and Spock were romantically attracted to each other. There was even an attempt to bring this notion into canon, though it was swiftly shut down by Paramount and Gene Roddenberry.
In 1985, there was a Star Trek: The Original Series novel released called Killing Time. The story of Killing Time involved the Romulans accidentally changing time so that the Vulcans controlled the Federation. This new reality featured Spock as a Captain and Kirk as his Ensign.
Killing Time featured a lot of intimate overtones in the Kirk/Spock relationship, which included Spock bonding to Kirk during his pon farr. These references were considered to be too much by Paramount, who insisted on fifty different edits.
However, the first printing of Killing Time actually came from the unedited draft due to a mix up at the publisher. Gene Roddenberry was furious when he found out about the content of Killing Time, which led to most of the first print run being destroyed.
Mystique - The X-Men
Mystique was first introduced during the classic Days of Future Past storyline. Mystique's iteration of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants was planning on killing Senator Robert Kelly, due to his anti-mutant leanings.
The X-Men battled the Brotherhood in order to protect Kelly, which resulted in Nightcrawler briefly seeing Mystique's true form and commenting on how similar they were. It was later revealed that Mystique was Nightcrawler's mother.
It was once planned for Mystique to be Nightcrawler's father. The plan was for Destiny to be Nightcrawler's mother, with Mystique fathering him while shapeshifted into the form of a man.
The higher-ups at Marvel denied this, as it was still too close to a homosexual relationship for them. It would later be revealed that Nightcrawler's father was a demonic mutant.
Holly Golightly - Breakfast At Tiffany's
The image of Audrey Hepburn as Holly Golightly in Breakfast at Tiffany's is one of the most famous in Hollywood history. The role of Holly Golightly became Audrey Hepburn's most iconic performance. The role would have become even more iconic if the character had been more like her book counterpart.
Breakfast at Tiffany's was written by Truman Capote, who based the character of Holly Golightly on several different women that he had known. The version of Holly Golightly that appeared in Breakfast at Tiffany's was actually bisexual and talked about living with a lesbian in the past.
A lot of the more controversial elements of Holly Golightly's character were toned down for the movie adaptation, such as her drug use and the implication that she was a street worker.
The people at Paramount were especially bothered by Holly's orientation, which partly resulted in the story of the movie becoming a romantic comedy.
Taku - Black Panther
Black Panther once starred in a series called Jungle Action, which was notable for being the first Marvel comic that featured a predominantly black cast. Jungle Action also dealt with a lot of social issues, which included stories where Black Panther fought the Ku Klux Klan.
One of Black Panther's closest associates is Taku, who acts as one of his chief advisors. Take was a prominent character in Jungle Action, where he would often team up with a hero named Venomm.
The writer of Jungle Action has revealed that Taku and Venomm were meant to be gay, but he was unable to reveal it during the story. This was due to the fact that Jungle Action was already a controversial series and the addition of a gay romance storyline would likely have gotten the comic canceled.
Yu & Yosuke - Persona 4
One of the central aspects of the Persona series is increasing your standing with friends and associates, which involves becoming closer to them.
These relationships can sometimes become romantic. The Persona series hasn't shied away from controversial love stories, with the protagonist of Persona 5 being able to romance his much older teacher.
It seems that Persona 4 was once planned to have a gay romance option. Fans have found audio files within the game for romantic dialogue between the protagonist and Yosuke. This dialogue even received an English dub.
The romance with Yusuke was never implemented into the game, which means that you can only romance female characters. This is especially odd, as Persona 4 dealt with issues relating to gender identity and orientation, such as with the stories of Naoto and Kanji.
Marceline & Princess Bubblegum - Adventure Time
There was once a promotional series for Adventure Time called Mathematical, which showed footage from episodes.
The episode of Mathematical that focused on "What Was Missing" ended with the host asking the audience if they thought that there was more to Marceline and Princess Bubblegum's relationship than meets the eye. This resulted in Mathematical being canceled and the producer of the show being fired.
Olivia Olson (the voice actor for Marceline) has since revealed that Marceline and Princess Bubblegum did date in the past, but they cannot address this fact directly on the show.
The reason for this is that Adventure Time is broadcast in a lot of countries where homosexuality is still illegal, so the romance between Marceline and Princess Bubblegum has to remain under wraps.
Dr. Holtzmann - Ghostbusters
The new Ghostbusters movie that was released in 2016 was a controversial movie from the very beginning. The fact that the original cast wouldn't be reprising their roles instantly turned off a lot of the fans.
This disdain only grew when it was revealed that the new team of Ghostbusters would be played by an all-female cast. The trailer for Ghostbusters quickly became one of the most disliked videos in YouTube's history.
Paul Feig had no problem with risking more controversy, as he was candid about his desire to make one of the new Ghostbusters a lesbian. This was never directly stated in the movie, as Sony directly intervened and prevented Paul Feig from mentioning that Dr. Holtzmann was gay.
Paul Feig has only been able to talk about Holtzmann's orientation in interviews.
Lexington - Gargoyles
The Gargoyles from the TV show called Gargoyles might look like demons with wings, but that didn't stop them from pursuing romantic relationships with humans.
Goliath and Elisa eventually itted their feelings for each other, though even his smooth voice probably helped her overcome the fact that he looked like a giant grey monster.
Lexington was one of the main characters in Gargoyles. He was a member of the Manhattan Clan who had to adjust to modern life along with the other Gargoyles. Lexington also had a part of his personality that never made it to the screen.
Greg Weisman (one of the producers of Gargoyles) has revealed that Lexington was gay, though it took a while for the writers to realize this. They weren't allowed to reveal this in the show, though, due to the fact that Gargoyles was a Disney production.
Northstar - Alpha Flight
Northstar is considered to be the first openly-gay Marvel superhero. Northstar's wedding in the pages of Astonishing X-Men was the first gay wedding to take place in the pages of a Marvel comic.
This is in stark contrast to what happened at DC a year later, when the writers of Batwoman were prevented from allowing Batwoman to marry her girlfriend, which resulted in them all walking out.
Marvel isn't allowed to hold their heads too high, though, as Northstar was prevented from coming out of the closet for over a decade. The higher-ups at Marvel, as well as the rules of the Comics Code Authority, all prevented Northstar from revealing his orientation in anything other than hints.
Northstar was created in 1979 and wasn't allowed to reveal that he was gay until 1992.