Michael Collins: Proud Family's Token Gay 🌈🌈🌈 

I don't mind when gay characters are effeminate and kinda stereotypical because some gay guys are like that in real life and that's absolutely fine, but it becomes a problem once they're a complete stereotype and have no agency outside of it.

Funny thing was he wasn't even technically gay in the original, sure he was flamboyant but that doesn't automatically make you gay and that honestly was more refreshing, dude acts less traditionally masculine but is still straight which is rare these days. However, here they basically made him such a gay stereotype it borders on parody.

Reboot version of Michael is just giving homophobes more excuses to hate him. He's OK but I agree he needs to be more than just a bunch of blatant gay stereotypes. Give him some serious scenes (like in the original) that would make him seem more like someone we'd meet in the real world, and not just a diversity token.

Even though he didn’t come out in the original he felt more realistic back in the day.

As a gay guy myself, albiet not black, who was in theater, I can't express how annoying it is to be viewed as just the girl group's little accessory. Im not even that effeminate as a gay man compared to stereotypes but the fact that I was gay was the reason for the person I got setup with for Secret Santa just bc she wanted a "gay best friend". I think with times changing and being allowed to be more explicit on character's indentities, writers forgot who to add nuance to characters? Bc a character like Michael has so much potential, often times gay/queer children already have a bad home environment so school sort of becomes an escape but for your only friend group to keep you around because they see you as a cute little gay pet that will scream YASS and go shopping with you, they dont see you as a person :/. Thats the type of story I want explored with a character like Michael or Dijonay. Right now I just see a stereotype alone, you have people that act like Michael, but their only trait isnt being gay. Love ur work ❤

"Who cares we won" we need more people with attitudes like that

I don't mind the redesign, but I think it should've been a gradual change. I didn't realize that was Michael until I was told he was Michael and that's not good in a reboot. Maybe have a minor subplot of him branching out his own style despite his dad's wishes

Micheal collins being gay was fine. I couldn’t care less but in the original he was honestly much better. He was arguably a better friend to penny in the OG and wasn’t a blatant walking gay “Yasss queen slayyy” stereotype- like before he had much more to him. Now he’s just The Gay Friend™️

He was a character, then they turned him into a caricature.

Honestly, I don't like Michael in the reboot. He uses Penny to get himself out of something even a little inconvenient and completely throws her under the bus when things go wrong. Michael isn't a good friend, he's just the least toxic friend out of the entire group.

I need an episode where Michael talks with his father, with a good or bad ending, we need something about it~

I definitely agree with the criticism that they need to add more depth to his character. Instead of dedicating an entire episode about Maya having 2 fathers, they could've used that as an opportunity to expand Michael's role.

Ironically, Total Drama had a much better effeminate gay black man in Bowie earlier this year, because he wasn't just stereotypical. He was more than just a gay man, he was scheming, emotionally intelligent, competitive, and an all-around likeable character. He wasn't just the token gay or token black.

The biggest indicator for me (in the og especially) that he was gay was whenever he would go with penny up to her room, Oscar (you know the same Oscar who would give a death glare to any guy who ever tried something with his precious baby) didn't bat an eye like he knew something and it was only a matter of time i just wish we could've gotten more i like how he's out and proud full of confidence but that's it.....also wild to me how he went from sticking with penny to throwing her aside?? like am i reaching or did a reverse uno happened??

Great video bro! I always liked Michael's character. He's not a "gay boy" but a human being. I feel that society label LGBTQA people within the community as one representation. His personality is energetic, intellectual, and cool. He's not about drama. Yeah.......the original series he always had a pleasant demeanor. But getting bullied and portrayed as a "sissy" is the harsh reality. I witnessed a classmate of mine getting bullied on a daily basis. That was in middle school. We sit on the bus and talked. This kid in our class would just......pick on him. He literally would brush it off. That is a dangerous mentality people have. I pretty much believe in the art of self defense. Michael outshined ignorant a**holes by being great at basketball. His flamboyant personality didn't keep him from stuntin' on the naysayers. Talent speaks for itself regardless. I like Michael's new look in the reboot series. He's edgier. But.....those repetitive LGBTQA slang language is too much. He has MORE versatility. The stereotypes are obvious. We need MORE healthy LGBTQA representation. I liked his tomboy style in the original series as well. I feel all these years went by with this new reboot and the creators just threw things together like a microwavable unseasoned meal. I enjoyed this video. Keep up the amazing work!!!

I love Michael, but I feel like he’s not given enough character

In the original Michael felt like a character In the reboot he feels like a stereotype

I’m a queer man of color myself, and I was adopted by a white family from birth. I didn’t grow up with the Proud Family show, but even from these few clips you shared, I do wish and hope that we get to see more of Michael prior to the reboot. To go all out and turn Michael’s character into just gay stereotypes is like 2 steps forward, and then falling back down a whole flight imo. Yes, there are some queer people who’re flamboyant, and that’s one thing. However, it’s changing an entirely more fleshed out character into JUST that one thing, and simply for comedy that’s…idk, off-putting? It’s a choice that I can’t help but criticize. If you wanted that stereotype, make it someone Michael’s dating, not Michael himself y’know? Idk, is that mean? 😮

I'm a queer youth myself, I am not gay or black, but I have seen and even experienced to some of the "you're not a person, you're the queer friend." They're treating Micheal like RuPaul's drag persona… these personalities do exist, especially in drag, but it's not who the drag queen is from themsleves, it is their drag persona which is all performance based. They made him act that how stereotypical drag queen will act onstage for a massive performance that mocks the stereotype of gay men… but he's not mocking it and he's not putting on a show or performance. They just made him a stereotype. Now, I personally don't have a problem with how he looks, I went to school with boys who did dress like that. I have an issue with how he's written.

I think it was always implied that Michael was the queer gay black man who exhibited feminine qualities, but thinking back I actually prefered the original because they had the gay stereotypes, but I feel like his character had more depth in terms of showing his flamboyance, feminine nature, and showing him playing basketball, which was suppoed to hone in on gay men being multifaceted people they can feminine and masculine because a lot of times we see them stereotype gay men as just a version of woman insgead of understanding that gay men are men who reject the conventionality of what society think a man should be. I really want disney to hire more queer writers, more experts on colorism, etc because they be dropoing the ball on these episodes.

Not only is he gay man, he’s a black gay man, and from experience, it can be a totally different battle. It would be interesting if they focused on that more, but instead Disney use him to say they’re inclusive🙄

It's sad to see how Michael has been changed. In the original series he was a ray of sunshine, very sweet and cheerful and always striving to make his dad proud even if he was only allowed to call him Coach in public. I'd have loved to see a Michael in the reboot who had grown stronger about standing up for himself and more confident with others, while still retaining that kindness and spark he had in the original PF. Here it's like he couldn't embrace his identity without embracing the stereotypes that come with it and losing the little bit of uniqueness that was once a part of his character and personality. I haven't watched very many episodes yet, but have there even been any plots exploring his relationship with his dad?

Michael in the original series was lovable, sympathetic, very funny, and was a great balance in the friend group. He wasn't your stereotypical version of masculinity and had an interesting struggle of wanting to appear tough for his father but at the same time couldn't because he had other interests like dance and choreography. He actually felt like a real person. Michael in the revival is just a walking gay stereotype. He has no layers. Like Maya he's an absolute asshole and is rude to everyone. And above all, he barely gets to do anything other than just stand there. He feels like a decoration and that's NEVER how he was in the original series. And we're just introduced to him like he was like this the whole time. It's one thing to be flamboyant and another to be a jerk. I have gay friends who are very comfortable in their being flamboyant and those kinds of people do exist. But with Michael it's either he's flamboyant or he's a jerk to everyone around him like Maya. I don't really mind if you commit to Michael being gay but at the same time, what was interesting about Michael before was that he was more than just the stereotypical boy and that it was okay if boys liked things outside of sports, games and all of that. If you wanted to make him gay, fine. But you need to do what What We Do in the Shadows did and create a character first. Guillermo never at any point is only just his Latino or gay self. He exists. He's a person. Michael in this show is not allowed to be one outside his new sexuality. He's not even given an episode to come to terms with it. We just have to accept it. Just another character completely ruined in the revival.

He is rude and his flamboyantness just seems like it's use as a pass to be rude

I don’t mind the redesign, it’s the personality that really bothers me. They took a character that was so sweet and friendly despite the bullying/remarks and kind of turned him into a catty asshole

Wait he’s in the friend group but we still haven’t seen his life at home, or himself not with penny group. It take to wait for 3 season. Love this video and the dissection of the reboot and the reason why people can feel uneasy about tween/teenager are to today and how media portray them

As a gay teenager that literally watched the reboot when I was 14, the age of the characters, I do not like Michael. No, not because he’s feminine there’s no problem with that. My problem is how he is LITERALLY JUST A BUNCH OF STEREOTYPES 😭 He isn’t Michael at all! I LOVE old Michael, he has a flamboyant personality and soft cute-casual style. New Michael is just a big slap in the face. They saw a gay coded character with personality and flushed him into a stereotypical gay character. The writers got a lot wrong in the reboot, I wish that they did better, idk. It feels like they’re tryna pander to us or be like “Hey look we support the lgbtq we’re sooo inclusive” like no this just isn’t it.

Wow, they really made him like those Queer Eye for the Straight Guy stereotypes. He's nothing like any of the gay guys I know and two of them run a boutique together.

Kinda feels more like a step back making him so blatantly gay. Having him be gay is fine, but I always hated the idea that our interests and demeanor determines who we are sexually. Shoutouts to Persona 4’s Kanji and his storyline for touching on that. Plus, real talk, Phil Lamarr is one of the voice acting GOATs, so losing him in the role didn’t help either.

I think it would’ve been more interesting to see Michael more as the old version but out as gay instead of alluding to it. It would show that not all gay males are over the top flamboyant, as black gay males are often portrayed.

The change in his appearance does bother me. Idk, it's a good design, and it's not the fact he's more feminine that bothers me, but I feel like there's a huge pressure for LGBT+ people to be as conventionally attractive, fashionable, and put together (and skinny) as possible. It feels like only attractive gay people are accepted, because at least they have their looks to offer, so changing a character in that way sort of adds onto that pressure for me. It wouldn't bug me if he was a new character, and that was his design from the start, though...

Nice to see more people talking about this, cause you don't see as much talk about queer men in media, especially in this field.

Honestly I hate when parents do that because every kid ain’t straight. I wish parent would stop acting like teens don’t date and have sexual preferences. If Michael was straight they wouldn’t care about no kids watching it they act like there’s no such thing as gay kids. They deserve representation. Why is it we can be str8 our whole lives but can’t be gay our whole lives. If I like girls at 10 nobody says it’s a phase and I’m confused even though I’m still growing and don’t know myself but let me gay I CANT POSSIBLY BE SURE until I’m at least past 21 and that’s ridiculous and ignorant

As a homosexual, I think the very stereotypical gay is annoying, I would rather see more of the original Michael

Is it just me or does this style scream stereotypical, even the mannerisms, No good gay person acts in those over exaggerating mannerisms, even flamboyant gays are not that stereotypical, idk. That's just my two cents as a bi guy here. Someone correct me if im wrong. ALSO awesome video mate ❤ 🐀

Being flamboyant doesn't mean Ur gay they just changed him and made him gay plus he is a stereotype

Writers like these need to stop using hammers. These traits do exist but they need to come off more natural. Someone needs to teach them to use more subtle tools.

I like Micheal’s new design, I think it’s visually appealing. I don’t hate his personality either, I’m fond of flamboyant gays, as long as their not just a stereotype. Hell, I’m a trans and gay stereotype myself! But I do think Micheal here in the reboot is, a bit too flat? As in, he needs more character depth. I wanna see his home life, I wanna see more about his thoughts and feelings outside of just, being the fashion and “okay boo” character, if that makes sense. Especially since we don’t get nearly as many queer boys in kids shows as queer girls. I think the creators are in a decent spot here, they can choose to flesh out some of these stereotype characters, in a way that elevates them from stereotypes into something else entirely, their own fleshed out characters. We all gotta start somewhere, hell I started out with stereotype characters too. But it’s about elevating them past that, listening to criticism and working on the characters until they’re their own people. This feels a bit rambly so I’ll end this here.

I like original michael goofy playful attitude more. Yeah, he's fine in the reboot. But It's the usual attitude you see in other shows when people don't know how to write or don't know what to do with their gay characters.

As a lesbian who tends to be in friend groups of straight girls, it feels like we're just seen as little accessories in media as sort of a "we're not homophobic, see, they're gay". When really, the extent of my queerness in straight circles is me wearing a lesbian flag pin, and mentioning having a gf. The Owl House did this so well tbh. I just kinda wish other writers took that lead instead of having us constantly acting like stereotypes, we're *gasp* more than just who we love. I'm actually thinking of writing a short story where the queer people are all fleshed out and there's a token straight who acts like every het stereotype ever

Having her dressed as pochahontas is weird cause I’m pretty sure the audience that this show caters to don’t like the pochahantas movie cause pochahantas was someone who was abducted from her home by white settlers. And the fact that Disney tried to make it a white savior romance.

The reboot seems to come off like the writers get their ideas from Twitter and Reddit. No wonder it’s a failure especially when you compare it to the classic original.

I never watched the Proud Family, but when the reboot came out I watched videos talking about it. Never once did anyone show what Michael looked in the original so I never knew until now and honestly- I prefer his original look and attitude. I liked his voice better too, like it was so subtle, but also sounded a bit bubbly to me and I love that for a character. They don't have to look outright gay, they can be just a normal person because that's how gays should be treated- like normal people

Its very strange when people think seeing a gay character will teach their children to be gay, i mean i grew up watching Trudy and Oscar married and in love and i still ended up with a guy lol. I personally like his new look and i love the confidence they gave him to unapologetically be. My problem is Michael is Sassy, the end. He doesnt read as caring, compassionate, angry, Depressed or hopeful just... sassy.

They could have kept sports as a part of the character with the flamboyance, like Cam from modern family

I don't mind the making Michael gay but what I do mine is giving him the stereotypical all fashion flamboyant gay attitude. Hopefully the writers now you can be gay AND masculine

This is tangential to Michael, but I found it beyond ridiculous how everyone in the school and Penny's dad made a big fuss over Zoey having gay parents when they were all perfectly fine with Micheal. It made the whole conflict feel unrealistic and contrived.

the difference in the voices between the original and the reboot is KILLING me

Apparently in the original he wasn’t gay. He was just more flamboyant. But I feel like he has a lot of stereotypes with him. Especially in the reboot. He was completely changed in the reboot. I almost didn’t recognize him

I think Michael's reboot design is really cool aesthetically, though I kind of wish his outfits looked more like the sort of clothes a queer teen would actually have access to. He's dressed like a high-end fashion designer, but as a queer woman who was both a theatre kid and in a GSA club in high school, I can tell you we were just as much fashion disasters as any other teen trying to express themselves. On top of that, most of our shopping for wilder & more experimental clothes was done at thrift stores (I cannot begin to tell you how many hours were spent at Savers, nor can I begin to describe the fashion choices that were made). It's kind of a tricky question because Proud Family always sort of straddled the line between more realistic depictions of teen life and exploring teen fantasies. As for his personality, I can appreciate that they wanted to show Michael as having come out and become more confident since we last saw him, but they're definitely leaning on the stereotype of the fierce, out and proud, sassy gay guy. I don't want to rag too much on that characterization, as it can reflect a lot of queer men's lived experiences and be representative of them living their truth, but it feels more like the type of persona you'd see in an adult who's been living their own life and making their own choices for years, and Michael's supposed to be a kid who's still living with an emotionally distant father.

It's a shame we didn't get to see their dad the coach because it was implied that there was still some tension. It would have been great to explore that old school patriarchal father and queer kid dynamic

As a kid, I already kind of picked up that’s he’s pretty flamboyant. Even wearing lavender and purple most of the time. In this series, now that times had changed, he’s able to embrace his true self. I really like his design. What IS my problem with the character is that - this is all they can write him as, the “Token Gay.” For season 3, they should write an episode about his current relationship with his father, the Coach, and whether or not he accepts this new version of his son.

The old Michael and the new Michael both feels like they're trying to represent different type of people unlike the new Penny, Dijonay, Lacienega, Zoey, etc that while different still seem to be trying to represent the same people their old counterparts were. (Btw, i started watching The Proud Family less than a month ago)

1. If you're shocked that Michael is gay, you have either not been paying attention or have never seen the show. 2. Personally, the only thing I have against his character is the I think, if the creators would have the freedom, we'll be seeing an episode where Michael is into a dude who's straight, and his gal pals are gonna are gonna the poor guy homo/transphobic. I mean, he threw himself at Noah just like they did. Other than that, IDC.

I really like the new design but also feel they could do a beautiful mix of new and old. Whilst he enjoys fashion and dance we should see more of his passion for basketball and other “masculine” interests, I feel it could not only make it clearer he’s the Michael from back in the day but it also would round him out as a character, give him more depth.

I agree with the video. I think the term you are looking for is "flanderization" (coined after Simpsons character Ned Flander who some would say had depth but now is known as "Christian Man"). It is fine to introduce these characters as gay or queer but that extra substance is what sets them apart from being just a stereotype.

Kiwi and Tony are back with another reaction lol 😂

Instead of bringing back Phil LaMare, a beloved veteran voice actor. They replace him with EJ Johnson, a Nepo Baby famous for reality television.

TBH the way you mentioned brushing off bullying , it reminded me of how I was about teasing about my intelligence as a kid in spec ed. I became used to it (tho it badly effected my studies bc i gave up lol rip) . Looking back at that whole ep.. I really just relate to that whole "brush it off brush it off brush it off until you snap" ,, Like you tell yourself it's okay til it's not... That ep really speaks to me now. . I wanna feel like they're trying in the reboot but some things do really kinda lean into the stereotypical. ( I was happy that the newest season had one of the twins being autistic tho.. That was really nice to see ) Also considering the makeover the Chang triplets got I feel like if they get enough awareness where they might be slipping up maybe they'll be able to course correct??? I hope so.

Mostly echoing other folks but as a gay myself, while I am glad that Michael's queerness can be more at the forefront of his character, I wish there was more to him than that. Like you said, he could do well with an episode of his own to really dive deep into his own background, and really flesh him out more. As far as gay male rep goes, a good chunk of the time it feels limited to either the gay best friend or the two parents of a secondary character, who usually act relatively the same if they receive any characterization, so I really hope that as time goes on that more shows are able to really cross that boundary it feels like we've settled into. Hell, this reboot in particular I think handled Maya's dads really well so far, even touching on the subject of homophobia and how it can affect the children of gay parents which I think is very well done. All in all, I think this show has had a good opportunity to really do something with Michael, and all that's left is to do it

It'd be great if they had an episode that breaks down some of the dangers of Michael's stereotype. One thing you see a lot is girl groups will have that one gay guy that is delegated to being the hair/makeup/clothes guy, and some girls will even actively look for a gay guy to be their best friend just to fit into that role. It'd be great to have an episode that acknowledges this, with the girls over relying on Michael for these tropes, just for him to get frustrated that they only see him as "the gay friend"

i love your videos and your cat is adorable honestly i always take the proud family’s characters with a grain of salt because the characters are just so….stereotypical. Like dijonay, lacienega, and michael. I do know these can be harmful and negative stereotypes. but on the other hand i do like how he’s stylish, confident, and finally someone’s a good friend to penny. im very excited that the show is somehow getting a third season after season two.

I liked the old Micheal since to me he wasn't simply the "token gay friend" but more like he bucked the traditional male stereotype and just lived his best life without worrying about others opinions.

I’m not a gay man but I am queer and I’m really tired of media portraying gay men as super feminine twinks. Back in the day, he felt more realistic and more human. I met plenty of gay guys who were exactly like Micheal before the reboot.

I have no issues with Michael's character, old or new version. I always found his personality to be so likeable and outspoken

I've been watching you for ages and realized I never subscribed till now. I don't even know how I found you originally. I thought I was! MY BAD TONY! I LOVE YOU! KEEP FIGHTING THE GOOD FIGHT

Love the way you word these viedos. You have a fantatsic view and a great way of presenting. Thank you so much ❤

I agree with everything you said. I just hope if they want him to be less of a side, they treat him more like an actual character. There's definitely people like him IRL, but I wish the gay people, specifically gay men who weren't as out there and flamboyant like Michael also got attention. That's exactly what makes it feel token-ish. How comes every time they add a male gay character, they have to act the same way as those that are more "popular" in mainstream media? I do hope they give Mike his own episode and that make him more than a stereotype, even if it's too late.

i forgot this video when i was binging all your proud family videos. so dropping a comment for the algorithm

I'm gay, not black, and...I dont see it as inherently disrespectful more...boring. It's unimaginative to continue with these stereotypes. Not bad mind you, there are plenty of gay guys just like that. But it'd be nice to see something new. Like, I'm a very "tame" gay guy. I've had several people tell me they never picked up on it. But maybe I'm just good at masking it 🤷‍♂️

HI KIWI!! Keep up the good work, Tony! I enjoy watching your videos!😊 can you talk about the gross sisters?

I know this is an older video (the other video I saw was your one about the red head being a punching bag); I don't even watch Proud Family, I just wanted to say that the M&M cups in the background are really cool and are a really neat decorative touch.

I would love to see an episode focus on Michael. I personally don't mind him being so feminine and flamboyant, but I'll admit that a big part of the draw for me was because he had seemed so nervous around his father in the original series, and I read an implied sort of rebellion in the way that he now carries himself in the reboot. Though to be fair, I was a casual watcher of the show, so maybe I don't have all the information. But to me, it seems like somewhere in the inbetween years, Michael must have turned things around on his dad and rejected him, and I would be very interested to see where the dynamic between father and son is in the present day.

We need more gay characters that aint the same stereotypical tidy whitey flamboyant, effeminate sass-ball that’s obsessed with fashion and other stereotypically girly things.

I remember this episode your right but u know a lot of the shows these days always have a gay character or couple I was shocked they did this. I like Michael

The biggest issue with these obvious stereotypes is that it gives an unrealistic expectation that all gay people have no nuance and that their sexuality is the sum of their character. There is nothing wrong with a feminine man, but that doesn't mean that they are all automatically gay or that gay men can't be traditionally masculine. The message is not inclusive when they make a character and caricature, as opposed to a person who happens to be gay.

To tell the truth I didn't know this was Michael. I thought he was a whole new character

I wish they have merchandise of Michael and the rest or the proud family characters; KG, Kareem, Suga Mama, Bobby, Felix, Sunset, Papi, The Gross Sister, The Chang Triples,

as a gay guy im not sure what to think of michael in the reboot. on the one hand its nice that he isnt being made fun of anymore, but on the other hand it feels like the show really doesnt have any plans for him outside of making him the cool gnc gay friend. he deserved better in both versions :']

Omfg. They changed his character A LOT from the original to the reboot. Wow.

Most gay people I know aren't flamboyant. They're just regular dudes that like men. I dont hate the flamboyant gay characters but can we get a realistic depiction of a gay man too? They dont all have to be sassy and loud

Aside from the Chang triplets i think the original run was better, now it seems like they are rightfully talking about the right issues but it's through the lense of an older generation looking up phrases on social media then trying to retroactively shove them in the new show and existing characters. Might be better if it was staring Penny's kids.

how am i just finding you? your videos are fantastic

Michael had more character in the original series than in the reboot. They did better storylines with him now he's been tokenized. They could have made it more transitional show his struggle with accepting himself or his family accepting him.

Tony with a fire video 🔥❗️

Shame they didn't do anything great with him because i loved his redesign, also i would love to see more feminine straight guys, they do exist!

0:35 THAT! THATS WHO THAT IS! Dog I inhaled everything Disney and Cartoon Network as a kid. I might not remember all the names of the characters in every show but I could at least tell you a thing or two about most characters. Dude I thought the redesign version was a self insert. That’s how unrecognizable he was to me

I like your Proud Family analysis. Have you seen “Moongirl and Devil Dinosaur”? It’s such a good show and would like to know your opinion.

"How stereotypically gay do you want Michael?" "Yes."

Flanderization is the name of the game in the reboot.

I think Michael's androgynous design is pretty cool. It pretty much hones in on his interest in fashion

There should be one episode that focuses on him again

I hate Michael's new design so much, and then people will call me homophobic for it, despite the fact I'm lgbt myself. It's like they really wanted him to "look" gay cause I guess the original design wasn't good enough for them. Became a whole ass stereotype.

idk if youre familiar with total drama but i'd love to hear your thoughts on bowie from the 2023 reboot!

I just started watching the reboot after periodically watching the proud family since I was a child, I loved Michael as a character he was legitimately adorable and a great friend to everybody. When I watched the reboot I admit I literally had to google who the new girl was in the show, turns out that "girl" was Michael. I don't mind that he looks effeminate at all, but the fact that there is absolutely no gradual introduction to this and seconds in he becomes a walking stereotype is an issue, they should have done a gradual increase and showed how Michael changed, even if they gave everyone their own little sequence like Penny had in the beginning (Before anyone assumes that I'm homophobic for thinking Michael was one of the girls, I'm not. I'm trans myself. I was confused because of the lack of a convincing intro.) Michael can be flamboyant, he can be effeminate, he can enjoy fashion, but it's when the characters whole personality becomes that and they essentially get ret-conned, he's no longer a really good friend and likes to stir the pot, create drama and then run away, it makes him unlikeable that he no longer stands up for his friends and is so wishy-washy. It's like all the characters forgot who they actually were. It's not just a Michael problem though, the reboot has made so many of the characters unlikable... most notably Penny. She has become just as toxic and annoying as her friends.

I just wish they gave Michael more depth than just the stereotypical "gbf." Like give him more friends in theatre, in fashion. Give him male friends, straight, gay, bisexual. He didn't have to be with the girls ALL THE TIME. If other shows can do it, they could do it too. Because I like Michael in this... just not how they approached it. They're black gay characters that're more relaxed than this character was

big fat agree with the point u made at 5:15 ish u never rly see gay characters who are just characters. their queerness is always such a huge part of their story when most of the time thats not the case and it takes away relatability. a character i find such a breath of fresh air is haley from talk to me, like she was just there and happened to be gay. her sexuality wasnt even mentioned i dont think, but like u still knew if that makes sense LOL

My issue with how they did michael is that they made a spectacle out of him on purpose. in the first 2 episodes Michael had on a different outfit in every scene while the main characters had on the same clothes. I was like this isnt the michael show, let him be a regular character like everyone else. He can be gay but why is that the focus of his entire existence. The reboot writers need to get a clue.

But *WHY* does every girl group nowadays need a gay guy like I find it just so infuriating there was no reason to add him to the main cast... 😅 Like especially I’ve noticed with shows for black girls there is always a gay guy no other race has to deal with that just just us ... I hope they forget about him.. can we focus on the girls that shows about .... Why can’t we have a show just for us that just has us in it like why does every show with black characters have to become a show for everybody and “all the minorities” 😅 Like I can’t even a single show that’s like just black kids where there isn’t a gay character but I can take a plenty of Asian and white shows where there are none....

Speaking as a black gay man: I haven't watched much of the reboot, and most of what I've seen is clips here and there. That said, I feel like all of the criticisms against Michael are just problems with the show overall. Everyone is a stereotype, everyone lacks proper development, and Penny's friends are all still terrible. The most secondary characters will get is a single episode dedicated to them, then all of that development is scrapped later on as if it never happened. I think putting too much emphasis Michael's queerness, especially from non-queer people, misses a lot of context, and leaves a lot of room for homophobes to latch onto bad faith arguments against him -- as you might see in this comment section already. So far, we've seen 4 queer men on the show, but since Michael is the only one that's part of Penny's circle, he's gonna be the "token" regardless. I appreciate you acknowledging that there are queer men like Michael in real life, especially his voice actor, but the current writers just don't have a lot of range to write compelling stories. I'm gonna assume many of them have dated ways of thinking, so as a result, they always lean into stereotypes and tropes for laughs and barebones "life lessons".