‘It’s a canon gay event’: Jenna Ortega and Sabrina Carpenter making out in a music video just provided an entire generation’s gay awakening

There might be plenty of gay representation in media these days, but there’s something about two major celebrities kissing in a music video for funsies that has the potential to change lives. Everyone say thank you, Sabrina Carpenter and Jenna Ortega.

As the biggest rising star in music and the biggest rising star in television and film, Sabrina and Jenna’s makeout session in the music video for the singer’s new single, “Taste,” successfully titled the Earth off its axis for a moment. It’s not that we haven’t made great strides in making same-sex affection more common and widely accepted, it’s that it’s often the nonchalant, unexpected gay moments in pop culture that make the biggest splash.

As someone on X put it, “Somewhere out there is an eleven year old on youtube typing in this very thing to the search bar, it’s canon gay event it’s true.” We all remember what that moment was for us, and today, Sabrina and Jenna possibly just awakened something in thousands of people — maybe even millions since the video is already nearing two million views after just three hours.

Fans were comparing what may very well be this generation’s gay awakening to their own, from Megan Fox and Amanda Seyfried’s kiss in Jennifer’s Body and Hayley Kiyoko’s seminal “Girls Like Girls” music video to Shakira and Rihanna rubbing up on each other for no reason whatsoever in the “Can’t Remember to Forget You” clip. That last one was probably one of mine.

In the ingenious scene, the man Jenna’s character is kissing turns into Sabrina as the lyrics in the chorus play out. “I heard you’re back together and if that’s true / You’ll just have to taste me when he’s kissin’ you,” the “Expresso” musician sings.

Yesterday, when all we had was a tension-filled staredown in the YouTube thumbnail, someone was already begging them to kiss and make up. Fast forward a few hours and, being the generous queens they are, Sabrina and Jenna granted a lot of sapphics’ wishes.

Despite the life-changing liplock, however, the video and its storyline are mostly straight. Sabrina fans have actually speculated the man at the center of the dispute is inspired by Shawn Mendes, who the “Expresso” star dated for a beat, and the other woman is his on-and-off girlfriend, Camila Cabello.

Sabrina’s new album, Short n’ Sweet, is filled with songs about this same dynamic (and a couple about her current beau Barry Keoghan), bolstered by the artist’s trademark explicit tongue-in-cheek lyrics. It’s a pop delight brimming with hits. The gay kiss in “Taste” is just a little treat for those of us who can’t really relate to Sabrina’s extremely heterosexual lyrics, but love the vibes anyway. Thank you, girl!