The Babadook has become a gay icon

Australian movie antagonist, the Babadook, who – let’s be clear – carried his self-titled cult horror to wide critical acclaim, has finally been recognized as a prominent figure of the LGBT community this past week. A creation of director Jennifer Kent, the Babadook is the top-hat sporting fictional ghoul who appears in the 2014 arthouse flick. He first arises in a bedtime pop-up book that the mother reads to her son following the father’s death.

Many have pointed to the Babadook being a metaphor for grief. But we know the true tea, hunty. The Babadook is a fierce quehn. Although we’ve known he is openly gay for some time, the Babadook’s sexuality was up for debate even as early as February of this year:

A Tumblr user Photoshopped The Babadook into the LGBT section of Netflix, spurring even more questions. Once it was cleared up that the Babadook was, in fact, out and proud, people still couldn’t baba-lieve it. However, the internet collectively began to celebrate the gay villain as a public fixture of the LGBT scene. (Still to be spoken for: Jafar, Ursula, Freddie Krueger…) As June is Pride month, it seemed pertinent to praise the Babadook for his contributions to the community.

Now, some fans are riding the queer icon’s status right to the baba-bank, with fan-created merch including T-shirts, tanks and speedos ready for your Pride float. Director Jennifer Kent has yet to comment on the emergence of her character into the gay community. However, it’s left a vast majority of fans Babashook.