There's no bigger turn-off than a gay Republican.
The third season of the hit comedy series Hacks shades LGBTQ+ people who vote GOP in an episode where Ava (Hannah Einbinder) hooks up with a nameless “gorgeous golf queen” (Christina Hendricks). As things get steamy, Ava is willing to let the older athlete urinate on her — until she learns her new lover is a Republican.
Einbinder recently opened up about her character's reaction to Variety, explaining that Ava simply assumed that the athlete would "be on the right side of things" because of her identity.
"If there is something gay happening between them, I think Ava also then assumes, 'If she’s queer, she must be on the right side of things,'" Einbinder said. "I don’t think it occurs to Ava that she could be Republican, or invested in fracking operations. It’s just assumed, and that’s why that reveal goes down."
As the scene heats up, the socialite continuously refers to Ava as "caddy girl." When Ava explains that she's actually a producer and writer, "golf queen" is no longer interested. Ava then calls her out for preying on her subordinates, which the athlete says she has no problem with — in fact, she enthusiastically funds fracking. That's when Ava loses interest, denying "golf queen" her golden shower.
Einbinder and Hendricks noted the humor in the moment, in which Ava draws the line at her hook-up being a Republican, rather than her desire to pee on her. Hendricks also pointed out the hypocrisy of her own character — something particularly reflected in conservatives.
"I also think that the whole twist of my character being a Republican is something that we all sort of acknowledge about ourselves, but maybe don’t talk about: We’re allowed loosey-goosey morals in the bedroom and behind closed doors, because that’s our decision, and we may behave the opposite of how we behave in the real world," Hendricks said. "But all of a sudden you bring politics into it, and it’s like, things just got real. Real fucking fast."
"I might be able to degrade myself, but I cannot stoop so low as to agree with your politics," she added.