Neve Campbell addresses gay tension between Billy and Stu in Scream
Neve Campbell is set to reprise the iconic role of Sidney Prescott in Scream this January 14. But in the meantime the actress has taken the time to address one of the biggest (and longest) fan theories that has been discussed within fan communities of Scream: are Billy and Stu gay and in love?
It’s a popular fan theory for a number of reasons, the most prominent one being that Billy (Skeet Ulrich) and Stu (Matthew Lillard) were all over each other during their attempt to murder the sh*t out of Sidney during the original film’s end. Then there’s the homoerotic tension of murdering people together, and then there’s the fact well…they did stab one another a few times and we know what that blade could be a metaphor for, right?
Regardless of what we think about the gay tension within that relationship, Neve Campbell also has her own thoughts about what the Billy and Stu relationship meant in Scream. When asked about what the dynamic was like between Billy and Stu and whether there was a “burgeoning relationship there”, Campbell had this to say:
“Perhaps, perhaps. Yeah, it’s very much a possibility, and now that Kevin [Kevin Williamson] is out and talking more about that, I would imagine that’s a big part of his thinking.” Campbell went on to clarify that while she doesn’t know ‘clearly’ as Williamson hasn’t said that their relationship is definitely, 100% queer, she acknowledges that it is a possibility.
“If I were to theorise, I would say that there was perhaps some confusion with them. Pretty confused guys.” The Scream actress goes on to say. “And that maybe some of their anger comes from not being allowed to be who they want to be, if you wanna go there.”
Campbell isn’t the first actor to talk about the gay tension between Billy and Stu. Matthew Lillard, Stu’s actor, has also given a wink and a nudge to the two men being in a relationship with one another. In an interview with US Weekly, Lillard mentioned that the two men fall in love, “adopt many stray dogs from Costa Rica and they rehabilitate small dogs. And then they slaughter people on the weekends.” If that ain’t true love, we don’t want it.
In other queer news, Kevin Williamson, creator of Scream, has previously talked about how the series was coded in ‘gay survival’ from the very start – particularly within the character of Sidney Prescott.
“As a gay kid, I related to the final girl and to her struggle because it’s what one has to do to survive as a young gay kid, too,” Williamson stated. “You’re watching this girl survive the night and survive the trauma she’s enduring. Subconsciously, I think the Scream movies are coded in gay survival.”
Scream is out in cinemas from January 14.
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