Accused of blatant gay-baiting, JK Rowling gave an unsatisfying answer when asked why Dumbledore -- who Rowling said was gay despite no indication in the seven novels or six Harry Potter films -- was not depicted as such in the upcoming Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald.
The controversy started when director David Yates said, "I think all the fans are aware of [Dumbledore's sexuality]."
The director continued, "He had a very intense relationship with Grindelwald when they were young men. They fell in love with each other's ideas, and ideology and each other."
For which, both Yates and Rowling were called out on social media.
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Jude Law has finally broken his silence on his character not being "explicitly" gay.
"Jo Rowling revealed some years back that Dumbledore was gay." The Young Pope told EW.
"That was a question I actually asked Jo and she said, yes, he's gay. But as with humans, your sexuality doesn't necessarily define you; he's multifaceted."
"I suppose the question is: How is Dumbledore's sexuality depicted in this film? What you got to remember this is only the second Fantastic Beasts film in a series and what's brilliant about Jo's writing is how she reveals her characters, peels them to the heart over time. You're just getting to know Albus in this film, and there's obviously a lot more to come."
"We learn a little about his past in the beginning of this film, and characters and their relationships will unfold naturally which I'm excited to reveal. But we're not going to reveal everything all at once."
While humans are undoubtedly multifaceted and our sexuality doesn't "define" us, to leave out such a crucial component of our fundamental identity seems wrong.
And as any gay man can tell you, there are a number of little ways that we know we're gay from a very early age -- ways that could have at least been subtly depicted in the upcoming film.
At least, Law seems to insinuate that there will be more indicators of Dumbledore's sexuality in upcoming films.