Hollywood Actor Chris Pratt's Christian faith was mocked on social media this week after the teaser trailer for the new Marvel Cinematic Universe film Thor: Love and Thunder was released.
The new superhero movie, which comes out on July 8, tells the story of the Norse god Thor and the Guardians of the Galaxy following the events of the 2019 film, Avengers: End Game.
As reported by Faithwire, a portion of the trailer shows Pratt's character, Peter Quill, also called Star-Lord, encouraging his team to look into the eyes of the people they love when they feel lost.
As Quill is giving the speech, Thor can be seen staring awkwardly and intensely into his eyes.
The clip prompted social media users to make fun of Pratt because it seemed as if Thor, played by Australian actor Chris Hemsworth, was attracted to Quill.
One user posted a photo of a person being held at gunpoint by a pride-themed handgun and captioned it, "Chris Pratt being forced to play Quill now that he's confirmed [bisexual]."
"Chris Pratt fell to the ground and started hyperventilating and vomiting after filming this scene," another user wrote in response to a tweet asking if Thor has a "crush on Peter Quill."
Some social media users also pointed out that the character was depicted as bisexual in a 2020 release of the Guardians of the Galaxy comic book series, Entertainment Weekly reports.
"Star-Lord is bisexual in the comics, hopefully in the movies too," wrote one user.
According to Forbes, many have associated Pratt with conservative and anti-LGBTQ values due to his association with the LA-based megachurch, Zoe Church. The church is pastored by Chad Veach, who previously produced a film that referred to same-sex attraction as "sexual brokenness."
Pratt's connection to Zoe Church also sparked criticism by Elliot Page, a transgender actor who once identified as Ellen Page, on Twitter back in 2019.
"If you are a famous actor and you belong to an organization that hates a certain group of people, don't be surprised if someone simply wonders why it's not addressed. Being anti-LGBTQ is wrong, there aren't two sides. The damage it causes is severe. Full stop. Sending love to all," Page wrote at the time.
If you are a famous actor and you belong to an organization that hates a certain group of people, don’t be surprised if someone simply wonders why it’s not addressed. Being anti LGBTQ is wrong, there aren’t two sides. The damage it causes is severe. Full stop. Sending love to all
— Elliot Page (@TheElliotPage) February 9, 2019
Pratt responded to Page's post in an Instagram story in which he asserted, "I go to a church that opens their doors to absolutely everyone."
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Photo courtesy: ©Getty Images/Kevin Winter/Staff
Video courtesy: ©Marvel Entertainment
Milton Quintanilla is a freelance writer and content creator. He is a contributing writer for CrosswalkHeadlines and the host of the For Your Soul Podcast, a podcast devoted to sound doctrine and biblical truth. He holds a Masters of Divinity from Alliance Theological Seminary.
