Actor Billy Dee Williams, the man forever enshrined in the American cultural canon as Lando Calrissian from “Star Wars,” revealed that he refers to himself with both masculine and feminine pronouns to express a broad spectrum of gender identity.
Speaking with Esquire, the 82-year-old Williams said that he sees feminine traits within himself as well as masculine.
“I never tried to be anything except myself,” Williams said, as reported by Fox News. “I think of myself as a relatively colorful character who doesn’t take himself or herself too seriously. You see, I say ‘himself’ and ‘herself,’ because I also see myself as feminine as well as masculine. I’m a very soft person. I’m not afraid to show that side of myself.”
The actor’s revelation about his gender identity comes after the movie “Solo: A Star Wars Story” portrayed Lando Calrissian (Donald Glover, a.k.a. Childish Gambino) as a pansexual by implying he had sex with a robot.
“Really? That kid is brilliant — just look at those videos,” Williams said.
Ever since Disney acquired the “Star Wars” universe from George Lucas, the woke-minded have long been using the force of social pressure to push the franchise into including more sexually diverse characters. In 2018, that wish appeared to come true when “Solo” screenwriter Jonathan Kasdan revealed the direction they planned to take Lando’s character.
“There’s a fluidity to Donald and Billy Dee’s [portrayal of Lando’s] sexuality,” Kasdan told the Huffington Post at the time. “I mean, I would have loved to have gotten a more explicitly LGBT character into this movie. I think it’s time, certainly, for that, and I love the fluidity — sort of the spectrum of sexuality that Donald appeals to and that droids are a part of.”
“He doesn’t make any hard and fast rules. I think it’s fun,” Kasdan said. “I don’t know where it will go.”
Jonathan also indicated that the movie dropped hints about sexuality in the “Star Wars” universe and how it differs from our world.
“There’s a line that [Jon Favreau’s character, Rio] has where he’s asking Han about the girl that he left behind, and he says, ‘Does she have big teeth?’” Jonathan Kasdan explained. “It’s a joke in the movie, but we did want to hit on this idea that people’s ideas of what they’re attracted to all over the galaxy are very, very different and not exactly as set as ours are.”
“Solo” went on to drastically underperform at the box office.
Following that, executive producer Justin Ridge of the show “Star Wars: Resistance” revealed that two cartoon characters, Flix and Orka, were in fact gay lovers.
“They’re absolutely a gay couple, and we’re proud of that,” Ridge said, confirming what fans have already suspected. “I think it’s safe to say they’re an item, absolutely.”
Director J.J. Abrams also promised that the “Star Wars” universe will be introducing gay characters in the coming future.
“When I talk about inclusivity, it’s not excluding gay characters,” Abrams told The Daily Beast. “It’s about inclusivity. So of course. I would love it. To me, the fun of Star Wars is the glory of possibility. So it seems insanely narrow-minded and counterintuitive to say that there wouldn’t be a homosexual character in that world.”