Emily Blunt is getting candid about her Devil Wears Prada character, Emily Charlton, becoming a “lesbian icon.”
Appearing on the Thursday, June 11, episode of Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen, Blunt, 43, was asked to weigh in on her character’s sexuality.
“Emily Charlton has become a lesbian icon, and fans have long shipped her with Andy Sachs [played by Anne Hathaway],” host Andy Cohen said as he read out a fan’s question to Blunt. “Would you like to see her openly portrayed as a lesbian in a future sequel?”
In response, the Oppenheimer star admitted she was all for the idea.
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“I’d love to get it on with Annie Hathaway,” Blunt joked. She added, “C’mon! There’s a love story there.”
After the enduring popularity of the original Devil Wears Prada movie, released in 2006, Blunt reprised her role alongside Hathaway, also 43, and Meryl Streep in the sequel, which dropped earlier this year.
As well as sharing her thoughts on her character’s potential love life during her WWHL appearance, Blunt explained how she felt about Emily being seen by some fans as the villain in the two films.
“You know, when I played her in the first movie, I never saw her as a bitch; I saw her as just desperate and that person who kind of defines her entire self on their job and their success and she’s clearly someone who is delusional and a lunatic, but I feel for her,” Blunt said. “I don’t know, I love her. I think she’s a complete loon, and I still think, I get it. I get the intention.”
Cohen added that he believed that because Blunt portrayed Emily “with vulnerability,” the character didn’t come across as nasty as she potentially could have.
“She’s tragic though. Think of how empty that life is,” Blunt replied.
The Edge of Tomorrow actress previously addressed her desire to become a “gay icon” in past interviews.
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“Yes, I’m going to become a gay icon,” Blunt told The Guardian in 2009. “Have I ever flirted with that side? No, never, [but] I do remember girl crushes on other girls in your year group [at school]. There are these girls who are magnetic and beautiful and so cool. You just feel yourself shrink in their presence. I absolutely remember how powerful 16-, 17-year-old girls can be. I look at them now — my little sister is 18 — and they do seem very grown-up. And taller — I mean, what is that? My brother is 6-foot-4 now. They all seem to be that tall.”
In 2014, she told The Advocate that she was embracing that fan base, explaining. “I know that’s my demographic. That’s been made clear to me by my fans.”
She added, “I love it. I think it’s so cool because one day I hope to be a gay icon.”
