Former Velma Actress Responds to Viral News About ‘Scooby Doo’ Character Being Gay

Fans have been bursting with excitement ever since it was revealed that Velma is portrayed as a lesbian in the new film, Trick or Treat Scooby-Doo!. The story was originally broken by Variety, when they noted that fans had pulled clips from the Halloween special and noticed that in one scene, Velma goes goo goo when she's touched by costume designer Coco Diablo.

In the now-viral video, Coco Diablo agrees with an assertion made by Velma, touching her shoulder and saying, “The cute one's right.” In response, Velma's face goes all smitten and she smiles at the camera. Then, later in the film, she admits to Daphne that she's “crushing big time” on Coco.

For years, fans have theorized that the character of Velma was queer, and it was even divulged by Scooby Doo: The Movie (2002) director, James Gunn, that he wanted to make the character a lesbian in his hit live-action film. However, he was stopped due to a “watering-down” of the script.

“In 2001 Velma was explicitly gay in my initial script,” Gunn wrote. “But the studio just kept watering it down & watering it down, becoming ambiguous (the version shot), then nothing (the released version) & finally having a boyfriend (the sequel).”

Now, Haley Kiyoko, who portrayed the character in the made-for-TV films Scooby-Doo! The Mystery Begins and Scooby-Doo! Curse of the Lake Monster, is showing her excitement on Twitter. She retweeted an article featuring the news and wrote, “Happy for her [smiling emoji].”

Because Kiyoko herself has publicly come out as a lesbian, the news clearly resonated with her. She retweeted one message from a fan that featured a pic of her as Velma, and the caption said, “The prophecy has been fulfilled.” Meanwhile, she shared another post from a follower, which highlighted the news and asked, “@HayleyKiyoko ARE YOU OK.” To which she responded, “I feel alive and seen.”

As she continued to retweet posts from fans, the “Sleepover” singer also shared her own personal message, writing, “I remember booking Velma in 2008. It was my first big role in a movie. I also remember thinking ‘I wonder if they know they hired a lesbian as Velma.’”

She closed by saying, “Here we are, 14 years later......[laughing emoji] love you all so much.”

We're totally here for the representation.

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