knives out and proud

“You’re not in the bath again, are you?”: Here’s how ‘Glass Onion’ hints that Benoit Blanc is gay

By · Updated on January 26, 2024
Daniel Craig in a bathtub talking to friends over Zoom while shirtless and wearing a fez.
Image Credit: Netflix

*Caution: Minor spoilers ahead for Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (though we promise we’re not giving away any juicy details pertinent to the plot).*

We must’ve been extra good this year because Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery—one of our most anticipated films of 2022—is now streaming on Netflix, just in time for the holidays!

As gays, we’re genetically inclined to love a whodunit (it’s just a scientific fact!), and Rian Johnson’s 2019 film Knives Out delivered with a killer ensemble and twists no one saw coming.

So we’re pleased to report its sequel, Glass Onion, does not disappoint, following world-famous detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) as he solves yet another thrilling mystery with higher stakes, bigger laughs, and even more surprises.

Related: With ‘Glass Onion’ out now, here are 9 more whodunits that prove why the genre’s a queer favorite

Among those surprises is a scene that confirms what we’ve suspected/hoped for since we first saw Knives Out: That Benoit Blanc is gay!

In fact, it’s even been confirmed by the director. After the film played the London Film Festival earlier this year, a fan asked Johnson if Blanc was queer, to which the filmmaker replied, “Yes, he obviously is.”

Now that the film is available to stream after a limited theatrical run, let’s get into how Glass Onion addresses Blanc’s queerness…

Benoit Blanc’s Boyfriend Reveal

In the film’s extended prologue, it’s the early days of the COVID pandemic, and we watch as five people (played by Janelle Monáe, Kathryn Hahn, Dave Bautista, Kate Hudson, and Leslie Odom Jr.) attempt to open a massive puzzle box, which winds up being an invite to the private island of their über-wealthy friend, Miles Bron (Edward Norton).

We then cut to Blanc, soaking in a bathtub as he plays the popular online party game Among Us with some truly amazing Zoom cameos from Natasha Lyonne, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and—we’re almost tearing up typing this—late icons Stephen Sondheim and Angela Lansbury. It’s truly a gag.

As Blanc laments to his famous friends about lockdown fatigue and missing a sense of danger in his life, there’s a knock at his door. He calls out, “Oh get that would ya?,” to which a voice responds, “You’re not in the bath again, are you?”

Over Zoom, Abdul-Jabbar says someone named “Phillip” told him that Blanc hasn’t left the bath for a week. Now, we’re no world-famous detectives, but we can infer that that disembodied male voice Blanc was talking to was none other than Phillip. Who he clearly lives with. And Blanc certainly seems well-off enough that he doesn’t need a roommate, which likely means…

Later in the film, we revisit this scene for reasons we won’t be disclosing here. We see the knock at the door, and then who answers it? Why it’s none other than Hugh Grant, one of the great British rom-com leading men, presumably playing Phillip! Donning an apron (it sure looks like he was baking something), Phillip greets the mystery guest, and then calls out again, “Blanc, there’s someone here for you. With a box.”

Related: That time Hugh Grant watched his gay sex scene with his dad

At that aforementioned London Film Festival screening, Johnson refused to spoil the cameo by dropping Grant’s name, but he did add, “There’s nobody in the world I can imagine in bringing me more joy for Benoit Blanc to be with.” In other words, Benoit and Phillip are a thing, and we’re totally here for it.

Rian Johnson Responds To Queer-Baiting Accusations

Given the brief nature of Grant’s cameo, and the fact that he never actually appears on screen with Craig (which some assume was due to COVID-safe filming restrictions), Glass Onion‘s been hit with some criticism for touting its LGBTQ+ representation without actually showing it or commenting on it in any real way.

And, indeed, the scenes are just coy enough that the film could claim plausible deniability in regard to Blanc’s sexuality. After all, there’s not much more here than Disney’s myriad “exclusively gay moments,” which have received their fair share of criticism. Are we being queer-baited yet again?

Related: Daniel Craig ditches the tux and gives off tatted up leather daddy vibes

In a new interview with Screen Rant, Johnson responds to those concerns, and shares why Blanc’s queer relationship doesn’t play a bigger role in the film:

“It certainly wasn’t meant to skirt anything,” the director says, “but it wasn’t driven by COVID in particular. It was just kind of the way the scene was written. It’s the delight of connecting up that moment, when you come back to it halfway through, with the moment from the beginning was kind of the idea of it. I felt like having Blanc be gay and have a partner just felt like a very natural thing coming out of the first movie.”

“It’s a delicate thing, though, because the detective is always at the center of a good murder mystery,” Johnson continues. “The detective is never the protagonist of a good murder mystery… But at the same time, it’s a big part of who he is, and going forward, it’s going to be fun to learn more about that. It’s true, it is just a glimpse of it. And that was one thing that I thought about; we’re obviously going to want to see more of this.”

Daniel Craig in a salmon shirt, blue ascot, and sunglasses standing on a dock near the ocean in Greece.
Image Credit: John Wilson / Netflix

In that same interview, Glass Onion star Janelle Monáe—who identifies as pansexual and non-binary—weighed in: “I loved just how normal it felt. Being a part of the community itself, and always wanting to see representation, I loved how it just wasn’t like ‘a message.’ As it should be, it just feels normal. It should feel like these are people who are very familiar, just comfortable with each other.”

And, indeed, there are more Knives Out mysteries on the way, leaving the door open for the films to explore this part of Blanc—and Phillip—further. Netflix has already green-lit another sequel, and both Johnson and Craig have shared they’re game for more.

Considering Glass Onion‘s strong box office numbers during its single week in theaters, and the fact that it’s already trending online and topping Netflix’s streaming charts, further Benoit Blanc mysteries seem like a foregone conclusion.

Twitter Reacts To Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery

And, lastly, here are just a few of our favorite reactions to the film on Twitter so far:

Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery is now streaming exclusively on Netflix.

Don't forget to share:

Help make sure LGBTQ+ stories are being told...

We can't rely on mainstream media to tell our stories. That's why we don't lock Queerty articles behind a paywall. Will you support our mission with a contribution today?

Once Monthly Annually

Cancel anytime · Proudly LGBTQ+ owned and operated