For queer people, that is desperately needed in countries where inhumane laws persecute queer people and force them to live in fear for their lives. You may not understand why seeing someone who looks or acts or feels like you can be so important, but representation helps normalize people across different cultures. It’s those movies that so many millions of fans obsessed over, and what became the basis for all the action figures, games, books, comics, and merchandise. There had been a handful queer characters in Star Wars novels and such, but never in the big blockbuster movies. Something as brave, inspiring, and full of love as he was.ĭrew celebrating his 34th birthday with a Star Wars sweatshirt and Darth Vader cake from his mother, mere days before his death. It got me thinking about what would be a fitting tribute to Drew. When I was heading back to Los Angeles, I saw that one of the other victims who had worked at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter theme park was acknowledged with a beautiful tribute by J.K. Drew was always bouncing about with a glowing smile on his face, and if you weren’t smiling too then he’d tickle you so hard it hurt, so how could this gaunt figure lying still in a casket actually be him? His mother walked me right up to him and I squeezed her hand far too tight. The best friend I had ever known was brutally murdered, along with his longterm boyfriend he had intended to marry one day, yet I couldn’t muster any tears. I was of course sad and angry at what had happened, but I found myself unable to cry.
It’s hard to describe how I felt in that moment. After an agonizing 33 hours of waiting, the news came that Drew was gone. It was pure chaos and next to impossible to get any solid information. The number of dead being reported kept growing higher and higher. I texted my closest friends who still lived in Orlando, but Drew was the only one who never responded. When I heard about the Pulse shooting on June 12, 2016, I was alone in my apartment and spent a sleepless night refreshing the internet for news on the casualties. Watching The Force Awakens was the last thing Drew and I did together. Little did I know, that would be the last time I saw my best friend alive. We ended the night with big hugs and promises of seeing each other again soon. When Drew visited in December 2015, it happened to be perfectly timed to The Force Awakens’ release, and we made sure to allocate a healthy amount of time to watch it together and have a lengthy discussion about our wildest Snoke and Rey theories. In 2014, I moved away from Orlando to work my dream job in Los Angeles. Thanks to Star Wars, I became friends with Drew, and meeting him changed my life for the better. Drew was all about love, and I had never met someone who loved so freely and openly. My overwhelming obsession with that galaxy far, far away had always felt like a barrier keeping others away, but now Star Wars had brought me into Drew’s orbit - and through him, his circle of other nerdy misfits - and became the glue that held us together. I was the gay, geeky loser who got picked on during gym class, ate lunch alone, and never got invited anywhere. You see, I was never the popular kid growing up. Meeting Drew was more than just finding someone to enjoy Star Wars with. We’d argue over whether Palpatine was Anakin’s father, obsessively play his old Star Wars trading cards and of course made sure to visit the traveling Star Wars museum and the Star Wars Celebration convention when they came to town.ĭrew and I enjoying the cantina photo op at Star Wars Celebration 2012 in Orlando, Florida. At the drop of a hat, we’d launch into full-on debates about why Leia wasn’t trained as a Jedi. Since we first met, Star Wars was always special to me and Drew. That little kiss marked the end of a long journey involving an online petition, thousands of Star Wars fans, and the head of Lucasfilm itself. He was among those killed during the 2016 shooting at Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida. Though it may not seem like much, for me it meant the world because it helped me find closure after years of trying to process the loss of my best friend Drew Leinonen. It came as the Resistance congregated after their victory: two women shared a celebratory kiss. While Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker delivered some big revelations that rocked the foundations of the Skywalker Saga, it was one innocuous, blink-and-you-miss-it moment featuring two unnamed characters that left me reeling.