Supergirl Fans Are Rightfully Angry With the Cast’s Flippant Dismissal of Kara/Lena Luthor Shippers

This weekend at Comic-Con, the cast of Supergirl was asked by MTV’s Josh Horowitz to do an improvised musical recap of the show’s second season. At one point, Jeremy Jordan, who plays Winn, sings about how Kara met a “new friend,” Lena Luthor (played by Katie McGrath). He then looks into the camera and yell-sings “They’re only friends! They’re only friends! They’re not gonna get together! They’re only friends.”

✨ @MelissaBenoist, @JeremyMJordan, and the cast of @TheCWSupergirl give a musical recap of Season 2 🎶 #SDCC pic.twitter.com/qCmtF4iP10

— MTV (@MTV) July 22, 2017

As you might have guessed, a lot of fans did not find Jordan’s joke funny.

While Jordan thought he was just making a harmless joke, “debunking” the “Supercorp” relationship, he has a fundamental misunderstanding of why shipping is so important to LGBTQIA fans.

[ETA: For the unfamiliar, “shipping” is when fans imagine a relationship (often times romantic) between characters that may or may not have been overtly intended by their writers or creators.]

LGBTQ+ representation is severely lacking on television, and respectful, fully developed queer relationships even more so. So fans will sometimes root for and support the relationships they want to see onscreen. Just because it isn’t planned by the show’s creators, or official canon, that doesn’t make it less important to fans.

And the very last thing those fans need is to be laughed at by someone on the show.

It’s worth noting that in the full video of the interview, McGrath voices a much more open response to the Supercorp shippers. She says that while she and Melissa Benoist didn’t expect this reaction to their onscreen friendship, she sees it as totally valid. “The great thing about what we do is, like any art, anybody can read into it what they want and take from it, so you can see anything and take from it what you like. And that’s what’s great about this show. There are so many different ways to see everything. And if that’s what you see in it, you know, take it away. It’s art.”

Jordan, though, took to Instagram to address people’s displeasure with his comments. He apologizes, but insists that people are misinterpreting his intentions.

I want you to know how much I love you. Yes, you. Yes, you too. And you. That’s all, kids. ❤️

A post shared by Jeremy Jordan (@jeremymjordan) on Jul 22, 2017 at 7:57pm PDT

Again, Jordan seems to be misunderstanding what the problem was. His apology still reads as incredibly dismissive of the feelings of fans, ultimately boiling down to “you got it wrong.”

Obviously, he got the message that fans were still upset.

U guys. I love u. I was wrong and I’m sorry. You’re all amazing and valid. ❤️

A post shared by Jeremy Jordan (@jeremymjordan) on Jul 22, 2017 at 8:57pm PDT

It’s not clear if he actually understands why fans were hurting, and why shipping goes deeper than just fun, silly fantasy. But at least it sounds like he’s open to the idea that just because he doesn’t understand something, that doesn’t mean it’s not important and worthy of his respect.

(image: CW)

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Vivian Kane

Vivian Kane (she/her) is the Senior News Editor at The Mary Sue, where she's been writing about politics and entertainment (and all the ways in which the two overlap) since the dark days of late 2016. Born in San Francisco and radicalized in Los Angeles, she now lives in Kansas City, Missouri, where she gets to put her MFA to use covering the local theatre scene. She is the co-owner of The Pitch, Kansas City’s alt news and culture magazine, alongside her husband, Brock Wilbur, with whom she also shares many cats.

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