Hollywood Movies Still Stereotype LGBT Characters, Depict ‘Gay Panic’ Scenes

The few Hollywood films to represent LGBT characters in 2015 did so in damaging and dangerous ways, according to a new report released Monday by GLAAD.

Only 17.5 percent of major movie releases were found inclusive by the media watchdog, and characters drawn in films like “Get Hard” and “Hot Tub Time Machine 2” were labeled stereotypes that won laughs from “gay panic” — or scenarios in which straight characters are distressed by social or sexual situations involving LGBT people.

“Leaving LGBT people out of the picture — or including them only as a punchline — keeps old prejudices alive and creates an unsafe environment, not only here in America, but around the world,” said GLAAD President Sarah Kate Ellis in an introduction to the annual Studio Responsibility Index.

Comedies featuring superstar Kevin Hart are repeat offenders in the report, particularly “Get Hard” co-starring Will Ferrell and “The Wedding Ringer” with Josh Gad.

“Wedding Ringer,” from Sony’s Screen Gems division, was panned for an event planner character played by Ignacio Serricchio. GLAAD said the movie relied on “the long-running homophobic ‘sissy’ stereotype for laughs,” used anti-gay slurs and showed an extended montage of two guys dancing to mock the idea of men touching.

That’s a glowing review compared to “Get Hard,” from Warner Bros., which sparked controversy ahead of its release for jokes deemed racially offensive and homophobic.