Angry Birds, a popular mobile game aimed at children, celebrated “Pride Month” by posting gay and transgender versions of their characters to Twitter.
“Pride Month is here! We’re celebrating with open arms and taking the opportunity to feature some of the most amazing and proud #AngryBirds fan art we’ve seen around!” declared the official Angry Birds account on Friday. “Happy Pride Month!”
After some users voiced complaints and asked the account to delete the images, Angry Birds stood their ground, expressing, “We’ve shared ship art before with little to no problem, the fact that this is the thing that cuts the fandom is half is telling. This is nice art, and we stand by it… We are not removing anything.” Ship art refers to fan art that often shows characters in relationships.
Angry Birds also claimed the gay relationships were not “canon,” despite the fact that some “spice” has been hinted at in the franchise before.
“Non [sic] of this is canon :’) We have no canon relationships in our franchise,” the account explained. “Some spice in some places! But nothing we’ve ever confirmed. It’s fanart and lovely!”
Angry Birds, which launched as a simple mobile game in 2009, has since become a major franchise, with movies, comic books, toys, and even amusement park attractions.
Charlie Nash is a reporter for Breitbart Tech. You can follow him on Twitter @MrNashington, or like his page at Facebook.