Kristen Stewart finally sees the Twilight films for exactly what they are: queer classics. In the words of Michael Scott from The Office, “Oh my God! OK, it’s happening. Everybody stay calm!”
For years, LGBTQ folks have been adamant about how queer-coded the Twilight movies are; whether it’s certain characters being heralded as a “gay awakening” or just the general over-the-top internet fanfare around the beloved franchise, Twilight has always been an important and fun piece of queer content. Now, Bella Swan herself has admitted she sees that connection.
“It’s such a gay movie,” Stewart says in a new Variety cover story. “I mean, Jesus Christ, Taylor [Lautner] and Rob [Pattinson] and me, and it’s so hidden and not OK. I mean, a Mormon woman wrote this book. It’s all about oppression, about wanting what’s going to destroy you. That’s a very gothic, gay inclination that I love.”
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Besides taking an introspective look at Twilight, Stewart also reflected on the 2002 film that shot her to stardom when she was 12: David Fincher’s Panic Room, which also starred queer icon Jodie Foster. According to Variety, Stewart has long avoided watching the movie because, in her words, “little-kid stuff makes me very embarrassed.”
However, Stewart says she was recently coerced into watching the film with her friends and found herself realizing why other LGBTQ folks often saw her character as queer. “I was already going like, ‘Don’t fuck with me,’” Stewart told Variety. “I was gay.”
Foster, who has often defended and supported Stewart throughout her career, found the realization to be profound. “There’s so much that you bring to a role that’s conscious, that’s choreographed, that you thought about. And then there are things that you’re working with that are entirely unconscious, that you won’t really understand until years later, or maybe never,” Foster told Variety.
Since both Panic Room and Twilight, Stewart has gone on to play much more openly queer characters in films. From Clea Duvall’s gay holiday rom-com Happiest Season to A24’s upcoming lesbian crime thriller Love Lies Bleeding, Stewart continues to not shy away from playing compelling gay characters. At the same time, she doesn’t pigeonhole herself to any type-casting, as she continues to play heteronormative roles; this year, she also stars in the romance film Love Me with Steven Yeun.
In her interview with Variety, Stewart acknowledged how maintaining an air of femininity after coming out so publicly on SNL has worked to her advantage. “I have lots of different experiences that shape who I am that are very, very far from binary,” she said. “But I did get good at the heteronormative quality. I play that role well. It comes from a somewhat real place—it’s not fake. But it’s fucked up that if I was gayer, it wouldn’t be the case.”
Listen, Stewart can make thought-provoking art with any performance, whether it be as a queer character or not. All that matters is that she finally sees Twilight and Panic Room for the gay masterpieces they are. Our work here is done.
