Name: LGBTQ+ shows take over Hollywood
Uploaded: 2026-01-07T19:38:32.641Z
Duration: 2 min 12 s
Description: Paula Scanlan, Senior Fellow at American Principles Project, joins to discuss the increasing presence of LGBTQ+ characters and themes in Hollywood projects.

Paula Scanlan, Senior Fellow at American Principles Project, joins to discuss the increasing presence of LGBTQ+ characters and themes in Hollywood projects.

A segment on Newsmax featured Paula Scanlon, a former UPenn swimmer and senior fellow at the American Principals Project, discussing the increasing presence of LGBTQ+ characters in mainstream television. The conversation highlighted recent examples such as Netflix's 'Stranger Things' and HBO's 'Heated Rivalry,' the latter being noted for its depiction of two secretly gay professional hockey players and its popularity among viewers under 30.

The discussion addressed questions about the motivations behind increased LGBTQ+ representation and its impact on sports culture, particularly in hockey. Scanlon expressed skepticism about the trend, attributing it to Hollywood's left-leaning influence, while the host noted the growing interest in such shows among younger audiences.

LGBTQ+ shows take over Hollywood

I wanna welcome in Paula Scanlon. So she is a UPenn graduate. She swam with a trans man, Leah Thomas, in college. I bring this up for a reason. She's now a senior fellow at the American Principals Project. Paula, welcome back. So we talked about this last week. Netflix has this show, Stranger Things. They have forced this gay character into the final season of the show. Out of nowhere, for no reason, it was so bizarre, 2% of the U.S. population is gay. And now there's this new show on HBO. It's called Heated Rivalry. It's like oddly graphic. It's a show about two professional hockey players who are secretly gay. The athletic writing today, hit show, Heated Rivalry became a TV phenomenon. Can it change hockey culture? It raises questions and criticisms about the sport's failures when it comes to the inclusion of the gay community, which I did not realize was a big deal in the NHL. Paula, why do you think the left is so obsessed with pushing this stuff on the public? You know, it's just what they always do. They're forcing people to just take what they are. But what I will say is, why is there no gay representation in hockey? Because they have a sport. It's called figure skating. They days win rampant every gold medal in that sport. They're probably doing that. And that's why maybe there's not gay representation in the NHL. That is exactly what we're seeing here. And I don't understand this show. And I had never even heard of it until you brought up this topic to talk about beforehand. And I do not want to see it. So thank you for giving me another show I never will watch. Yes, but here's the deal. Right now, tonight, this is the number one show for people under 30 in this country. Why are people around your age so interested in stuff like this? You know, I wish I had a good answer, but I think part of it is that we grew up with it. I mean, shows were starting to introduce a lot of gay characters when I grew up. I remember watching TV shows that were normal, and then all of a sudden it was about trans people and gay people. This was back in, you know, almost over 10 years ago at this point. So this has been coming for a long time. We've seen this increase. And again, it's just another way for them to push their agenda. I will say Hollywood does this time and time again. Hollywood is extremely left-leaning. And this is no surprise to me that this continues to happen. Paula Scanlon, appreciate you being with us tonight. Good to see you again. Thank you.

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