Amy Madigan has reflected on the gay appeal of her iconic Weapons villain.
On Monday (8 December), the screen icon received a Golden Globe nomination for the acclaimed mystery-horror, in which she plays – spoiler incoming? – Aunt Gladys, an evil witch disguised as a harmless elderly relative with flame-red hair, oversized glasses and a riotously colourful wardrobe.
Despite being utterly monstrous – even using her dark magic to make Benedict Wong’s school principal kill his husband – Aunt Gladys has become an LGBTQIA+ icon, partly because she’s a formidable woman and partly because she’s camp as tits.
In an interview with Variety, where she celebrated her Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture, Madigan said Aunt Gladys resonates with audiences because “people actually like [her]”.
“They kind of want to hang out with her,” she explained. “I’m very, very happy and grateful that the gay community and the drag community have really accepted Gladys.
“The people that I’ve talked to have said, “We’re the other. We’re the outsider, and we’re not supposed to fit in, and Gladys does in a weird way.” And now they have really helped her spread her magic around.”
Madigan also revelled in seeing Aunt Gladys take over Halloween. When asked how it felt to see her become a popular costume, she responded: “Oh, I just loved. It was really fun — and it was kind of all over the place! I just sat back and looked at all that stuff. It was cool.”
Became the iconic Aunt Gladys from Weapons for Halloween 2025 💇💀 pic.twitter.com/dsVH5LPVPk
— VVYND — pronounced “wind” (@VVYND) November 1, 2025
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@showgirlsweho GLADYS. #weaponsmovie #rupaulsdragrace #dragrace #dragqueen #gladys ♬ original sound – Showgirls
After Variety correctly opined that, once a drag queen dons an actor’s character “you’ve made it”, she said: “Don’t tell the [Trump] administration that. We’ll all get canceled.”
Directed by Barbarian’s Zack Cregger, Weapons received overwhelming acclaim upon release and became one of the biggest box office hits of the year, grossing $268 million against a $38 million budget.
Also starring Julia Garner, Josh Brolin, Alden Ehrenreich, Austin Abrams and Cary Christopher, the film follows the mysterious disappearance of seventeen classmates who run away on the same night at the same time.
The success of Weapons has already sparked discussions of a prequel centred on Aunt Gladys, with Cregger telling Fangoria: “It is real and I’ve been talking to Warner Bros. about it. There’s a story and I’m pretty excited about it. It’s not bullshit.”
He added: “I was ready. I had it kind of in my pocket before the movie came out.”
Revisit Weapons with its chilling trailer below.
