Come Out, Come Out, Wherever You Are: Katori Hall’s Exotic Dancer Drama Series ‘P-Valley’ Ruffles Feathers With Closeted Gay Rapper Love Scene

Hip Hop HIPocrisy, TV/Film

That’s an alleged statement — the ruffle feathers part. It never seems to fail that the Internet, especially the exuberantly toxic rabbit hole known as Twitter, goes out of its way to make a big deal out of nothing and that’s on both sides of any debate. This week, social media is supposedly in an uproar about P-Valley and its unabashed sex scene between characters Lil Murda (J. Alphonse Nicholson), an up-and-coming southern rapper, and his longtime friend Big Teak (John Clarence Stewart).

Granted P-Valley twirled out the gates with unapologetic characters and scenarios unpacking aspects of LGBTQ+ lifestyle and sexuality from the very start with non-binary, big personality entrepreneur Uncle Clifford (Nicco Annan), let social media tell it, season 2 of the series tests the patience of its heterosexual day one viewers who tuned in to see the rise and fall, and rise again of a grimy and sexy strip club in the deep south.

Four episodes into season 2 and the “P” in P-Valley now stands for porn, which for the conservative could be an even more upsetting admonition than the fact that two people that identify as masculine males were breaking the springs of a hotel bed. What’s the point of unnecessarily inviting viewers into the intricate details of intimacy in a scene, whether it’s same-sex or not, except for the edification of storytelling?

To be fair, the creator Katori Hall is tapping on a rare conversation in the hip hop community that has befuddled the brains of its followers every since Wendy Williams got on the radio and told her listeners one major hip hop label owner had a career deafening secret or when the late Pimp C unwittingly exposed Atlanta rappers with allegations of same-sex affairs.

For decades, the existence of down-low or closeted gay rappers and incarcerated persons has always been a poorly kept secret, and it wasn’t until Macklemore and Lil Nas X blasted through the fourth wall embracing the LGBTQ+ movement that some rigid hip hop purists and heterosexual Black people could at least tolerate their humanity, if nothing else.

There wasn’t an issue as long as the movement wasn’t happening in their homes or in their children’s schools. Now that those safeguards are susceptible to be influenced by the movement with Gen Zers being more receptive and schools incorporating inclusive programs and resources in the curriculum, the new point of contention is the desensitizing of viewers via mainstream television and film.

No one seemed to be bothered in season 1 of P-Valley when Lil Murda had sex with Uncle Clifford. Perhaps it was because Uncle Clifford wears makeup and dresses like the women characters on the show, thus giving the appearance of a feminine being and making the sex scene more tolerable. Viewers had the total opposite reaction when the more masculine Big Teak, who had spent a whole episode beating his chest and throwing his weight around, became a “bottom” to the domineering Lil Murda.

Even more contradicting is the fact that not too many people had concerns about Mercedes (Brandee Evans) getting it in with a very married woman. What it proves is that some people are not ready for masculine male-on-male action, and it might be because there’s something very deceitful about a man practicing hypermasculinity, all the while publicly denying his attraction to the same sex, which is exactly what Lil Murda is doing.

So, when Lil Duval posts an irate statement about watching two masculine men do the do, there’s a lot of things at play — not just homophobia. But, there’s deep-seeded trauma for those who may have been abused by the same sex, and there’s indoctrinated bigoted and patriarchal culture, for instance. Or, it could be as simple as not having exposure to the masculine male love scene dynamic. It’s not like it was historically, widely-accepted and applauded across television and film — otherwise it would be just as normalized as lesbian sex and the over-sexualization of women and girls in Hollywood, period.

With that said, gay love scenes on P-Valley won’t be the reason why I tune out and cancel my Starz subscription. The storylines are too tantalizing to not finish. Will Keyshawn ever dump her abusive lover and find consolation in success? Will Mercedes repair her relationship with her daughter and retire from stripping to relaunch her business dreams? And what’s up with stripper Big Bone laying it on thick for the Drake look-a-like Diamond?

There’s several reasons to tune in and the only way I’ll retreat, like I did with Empire and some other series that initially had a great start, is if the storylines are so convoluted with sex scenes that the show is now soft porn meant to shock and consume time in an attempt to cover up the lack of great storytelling. But, that’s not the case, so…

Update: J. Alphonse Nicholson comments on same-sex love scene in Pop Sugar interview, “It’s extremely important [to show these images] because it’s a part of life that not only is taboo within the [Black] community on a daily basis, but in the TV and film worlds as well. We haven’t seen that often, and even in the moments that we’ve seen it, I think it was kind of expected. Lil Murda is one of those characters that constantly gives you things that you don’t expect, and so I’m grateful that [creator Katori Hall] trusted me with the choices that were being made.”

About The MouthSoap Staff 2165 Articles
Betty Bema is the creator of The MouthSoap and Pabulum Entertainment. She produces digital shows Thinking Out Loud and TV, Film & Foolishness, while also managing editorials for TheMouthSoap.com.
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