Gay Twitter is going FERAL for Charlie Barnett's steamy shirtless scene in 'The Acolyte'
| 06/07/24
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Oscar Gonzalez Fuentes/Shutterstock; Disney+
Is it getting steamy in here?
The first episode of the Star Wars prequel series The Acolyte dropped on Disney+ with one noticeable thing missing — gay hunk Charlie Barnett’s Jedi robes!
The 36-year-old actor of Russian Doll fame appears shirtless in the premiere while his character, Jedi Knight Yord Fandar, steams his Jedi robes, and now Gay Twitter is going absolutely feral for his ripped physique.
This week’s two-episode premiere was much anticipated by Star Wars fans, but more than the mystery of who’s murdering Jedis, what has everyone — or at least gay fans of the beloved franchise — talking is how hot…and steamy…Barnett looked while trying to get the wrinkles out of his Jedi garb.
Related: 5 reasons why The Acolyte is the most LGBTQ+ Star Wars ever
Barnett was nervous about going shirtless on the show because he assumed the reactions from the Star Wars fandom would be harmful. While there are keyboard warriors spewing their displeasure on social media, many fans can’t get enough of Barnett’s bare chest. “The Acolyte keeping strong the tradition of hot men shirtless. I would die for Yord,” one person commented, while another fan wrote, “Yord shirtless was so gay of the show. I need more actually.” People clearlyfeel passionate that Yord should keep his shirt off for the whole show, with someone else writing, “Telling him to put his clothes back on was a hate crime. And in Pride Month, not less?!?!”
Despite Barnett’s concern about how longtime fans would perceive the scene, he went ahead because he trusted in writer and director Leslye Headland and because, for him, it was about more than partial nudity. “Because it’s one of those beautiful moments where it’s like Jedi are — I mean, I am a human — and Jedi do human things which means probably taking off their clothes and going to bed,” he explained to Decider. “But it’s even more specifically Yord, it wasn’t about the shirtless for me, it was about steaming. It was about preparing my day and being the best-presented Jedi I could possibly be.” We’re all for showing Jedis as human if it means more scenes with Barnett sans robes, and Gay Twitter agrees with us.
Keep scrolling to see the thirstiest reactions to this now-infamous shirtless scene!
Ariel Messman-Rucker is an Oakland-born journalist who now calls the Pacific Northwest her home. When she’s not writing about politics and queer pop culture, she can be found reading, hiking, or talking about horror movies with the Zombie Grrlz Horror Podcast Network.
Ariel Messman-Rucker is an Oakland-born journalist who now calls the Pacific Northwest her home. When she’s not writing about politics and queer pop culture, she can be found reading, hiking, or talking about horror movies with the Zombie Grrlz Horror Podcast Network.