Why Is Eastenders' Drunken Gay Kiss Controversial?

Although the BBC says it has received very few complaints through official channels to the kiss between Eastenders characters Johnny Carter and Gary Pennant (Sam Strike and Gary Lucy), Twitter reactions have taken a disappointingly homophobic tone to the romantic interlude on a recent episode of the British soap opera. Some called for killing the "faggots" and complaining that the show was filled with them.

As Towleroad reports, tonight's episode of the show includes Johnny coming out to his father (played by Danny Dyer). According to press reports at Metro.co.uk: "Dyer, who plays Mick Carter in the BBC One soap, will showcase his previously unseen emotional side when his on-screen son Johnny (Sam Strike) reveals he is gay. Carter had been badgering his son to make a move on Whitney, not knowing that he had shared a drunken kiss with Gary Lucy's character Danny Pennant."

It's anyone's guess what the fan reaction will be to this emotional scene. But after the last Twitter flare up, it may be just as negative.

Watch the clip of the kiss below: