Why Some ’90 Day Fiancé’ Fans Hated Stephanie Matto’s First Kiss With Erika Owens
When it comes to LGBTQ+ representation, some fans of 90 Day Fiancé aren’t so happy with TLC. A recent episode of the hit reality show featured Stephanie Matto and Erika Owens, the franchise’s first LGBTQ+ couple, meeting for the first time. And as couples tend to do when they first meet, Erika Owens and Stephanie Matto shared a kiss. However, some fans of the show think the way the kiss was edited was not appropriate. In fact, some think that 90 Day Fiancé is pandering to straight men, as opposed to exhibiting diversity in their show.
Fans react to Stephanie Matto and Erika Owens’ kiss
Some 90 Day Fiancé fans felt as if Stephanie Matto and Erika Owens’ first kiss was filmed differently from the usual first kisses on the show. They felt as if TLC was taking advantage of the couple’s sexuality to entice male viewers.
A Reddit user posted, “Normally, first kisses on the show are cringy or romantic with triumphant happy music in the background. But the Erika/Stephanie first kiss had almost cheesy porn music in the background and was a zoomed in shot that went on for a while… it seems like the editors are playing into the male gaze rather than actually trying to depict a queer couple like any other couple. Maybe the zooming was because they were in the bathroom which leaves less room to film, but I don’t buy that production couldn’t have told them to kiss elsewhere and that still doesn’t explain the music.”
Most commenters agreed with the original post. One user commented, “Not only did I get the feeling the cameras were presenting it that way, I felt Stephanie was very aware of her male audience.”
“Yes, Stephanie kept playing with her own hair during the kiss … Weird!” added another 90 Day Fiancé fan.
Another fan wrote, “I literally said out loud, ‘What’s up with this lesbian porn scene?’ I knew exactly who the producers were trying to appeal to with that scene.”
“I was very excited to finally see a couple from the LGBTQ community before the season. I absolutely hate the way they are depicting it. It reminds me of how things were depicted 20 years ago on tv, overly sexual for male enjoyment. Erika seems like the real deal but I can’t help but think Stephanie likes attention, not girls,” opined another fan of the show.
Some fans question if Stephanie Matto is frauding
Some 90 Day Fiancé fans have been questioning Stephanie Matto’s sexuality and the legitimacy of her claims on the show. One of the main reasons for this is Stephanie Matto’s YouTube account.
Matto has a video on her channel entitled “I Was in Love With a Girl | My First Bisexual Experience.” This had some fans wondering if her family truly doesn’t know she’s bisexual. It also left some fans feeling as if Matto was seeking followers, and wasn’t truly looking for love.
Stephanie Matto replies to ‘90 Day Fiancé’ fans
Stephanie Matto has since replied to 90 Day Fiancé fans who think she might be lying about her sexuality and situation.
In her Instagram story, Matto addressed the video in question. She wrote, “My final time addressing this . First of all: this is NOT a coming out video. Nowhere in this video did I come out. This was a video about an experience I had with a girl I thought I was in love with.”
Matto added, “My mom never watched my channel 3 years ago when I made this. I’ve made videos about anal sex, dildos, and all sorts of things she has NO interest in.”
“This video was also buried in over 3 years worth of videos (about 800 in total). I recently made it my main page video because obviously the cat is out of the bag now and I figured I would share it now for all the naysayers who would try to say, ‘she’s just bi for the show,’” she continued.
Matto then concluded, “Unfortunately it has completely backfired because now people are assuming my parents not knowing is a fake storyline.”
