Sapphic circles of Twitter were whipped into a frenzy last night, October 3rd, thanks to a clip from Trick or Treat Scooby-Doo! — the new animated film in the mystery franchise — in which our freckled, four-eyed savior Velma finds herself instantly enamored by the foxy (female!) criminal Coco Diablo. Though many fans were thrilled with Velma’s “coming out,” the beloved character has been a confirmed lesbian for a while now.
The first official clue we’ve had of Velma’s queerness came back in the series Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated, which ran from 2010 to 2013. In 2020, one of the show’s producers Tony Cervone shared an Instagram photo that featured Velma against a rainbow backdrop: “I obviously don’t represent every version of Velma Dinkley, but I am one of the key people that represents this one,” he wrote of the series. “We made our intentions as clear as we could ten years ago. Most of our fans got it. To those that didn’t, I suggest you look closer. There’s no new news here.”
It’s no coincidence that countless lesbian and bisexual women who grew up with Scooby-Doo! films felt drawn to Velma as an early representation of their sexuality. Even James Gunn, who co-wrote the 2002 live-action Scooby-Doo! that starred Linda Cardellini as Velma, admitted he tried as best as he could to make the character’s queerness canon: “In 2001 Velma was explicitly gay in my initial script,” he wrote shortly after Cervone’s post. “But the studio just kept watering it down & watering it down, becoming ambiguous (the version shot), then nothing (the released version) & finally having a boyfriend (the sequel).”
At last, the franchise that centers around an anthropomorphic Great Dane has pretty explicitly confirmed that Velma is, indeed, attracted to women. It only takes a few seconds of eye contact with Coco Diablo for the first time for her to get butterflies. “Jinkies!” she says as her cheeks blush.
Later on, in another clip shared to Twitter, a clearly suspicious Daphne prods Velma about her feelings towards Coco: “I didn’t know convicted felons were your type,” Daphne remarks with a smirk. After a moment of sheer gay panic, Velma breaks down: “OK, who am I kidding?! I’m crushing big-time, Daphne!”
So, there you have it: Velma is, and always has been, a lesbian icon — although she wasn’t exactly fooling anyone with that bob haircut. See the clips for yourself below.
Trick or Treat Scooby-Doo! will premiere in full on Cartoon Network October 14th.
OMG LESBIAN VELMA FINALLY CANON CANON IN THE MOVIES LETS GOOOOOO pic.twitter.com/0ilx2uid1q
— Trin 🎃 (@MythicalLlamaXO) October 3, 2022
Also here’s the part where she actually admits it 🥲🥲 pic.twitter.com/nyA3toBz80
— Trin 🎃 (@MythicalLlamaXO) October 4, 2022
