A new addition to Netflix's television roster has been slammed as 'woke garbage' by the Trump administration this week, for focusing on the experiences of a gay man in the military.
The eight-part miniseries Boots is based on former US marine sergeant Greg Cope White's 2015 coming-of-age memoir The Pink Marine, and tells the story of the author's real experience as a closeted Texas teen growing up in the 1990s, who makes the decision to join the Corps.
At the time, it was illegal for gay individuals to serve in the military, forcing Cope White to lie about his sexuality in official paperwork.
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Despite this, whilst training, he met a number of 'oddballs and eccentrics' that later became his teammates.
The pro-LGBTQ+ drama landed on the streaming service on 9 October, and has since impressed thousands of viewers around the world for its respectful representation of a gay man's experience of enlisted life and critique of the anti-gay policies prominent in the 1990s military.
As such, it currently stands at the sixth most-watched show at the moment.
Speaking of its importance in an increasingly more right-wing America under Republican rule, lead actor Miles Heizer - who is also gay - told Variety: "When the show started filming [in 2023], I don’t think we intended to have this message that’s so relevant to serving today.
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"But then of course as we’re making it, all these things started happening. It’s very interesting that Boots shines a light on what’s actually happening now, even though the show is set in 1990. It’s upsetting."
Despite having been available to stream for several weeks, however, it wasn't until Sunday (19 October) that Donald Trump's team caught wind of the nature of the series.
In a scathing statement given to Entertainment Weekly by Kingsley Wilson - the press secretary of the Pentagon - Boots and its creators were brutally condemned.
"Under president Trump and secretary [Pete] Hegseth, the US military is getting back to restoring the warrior ethos," it began.
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"Our standards across the board are elite, uniform, and sex neutral because the weight of a rucksack or a human being doesn’t care if you’re a man, a woman, gay, or straight."
Wilson continued: "We will not compromise our standards to satisfy an ideological agenda, unlike Netflix whose leadership consistently produces and feeds woke garbage to their audience and children."
In an interview given to Forbes, Cope White previously revealed what inspired him to write Boots, much of which he claims was spurred by the amount of gay teenagers per year who make the decision to take their own life.
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"It made me think of the hell that I went through in boot camp and how difficult it was to survive that, but I just kept putting one boot in front of the other," he explained. "I knew that it would hopefully get better, but when you’re in it, it’s awful."
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence, contact the LGBT Foundation on 0345 3 30 30 30, 10am–6pm Monday to Friday, or email [email protected]
Topics: Donald Trump, US News, Politics, LGBTQ, Netflix, TV And Film
Rhianna Benson