Xena: Warrior Princess star Lucy Lawless' racy lesbian sex scenes that made her gay icon

Xena: Warrior Princess star Lucy Lawless was a household name in the 90s thanks to the fantasy series – and she also became a gay icon thanks to her characters’ racy lesbian antics.

From season one of the Channel 5 show, which ran from 1995 to 2001, Lawless, 55 today (Wednesday March 29), stunned viewers with risque scenes with co-star Renee O’Connor, who played sidekick Gabrielle.

And she took things to a whole new level in Spartacus: Gods of the Arena.

But it was Xena’s ambiguous romantic relationship with her travelling companion which led to Lawless becoming a lesbian icon – something she’s since said she is incredibly proud of.

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In one scene a shot of Xena and Gabrielle’s clothes hanging off a bush, if followed by a pan around to reveal the naked pair in a lake.

Bordering on the X-rated with its innuendo, Xena can be heard saying to her friend: “Come on Gabrielle, you’ve been wanting to do this for ages.”

Xena then adds: “Just reach under this rock, give it your best shot.”

Gabrielle takes a deep breath and then plunges under water as the camera switches back to Xena who suddenly pulls a very suggestive smile.

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With the sexy undertones at fever pitch, Gabrielle pops out from under the water as it emerges she was trying to catch a fish all along.

The flirty moment is only interrupted when a boy appears running away from an evil man and Xena has to intervene, despite her lack of clothes.

Although it was never explicitly stated in the series, Lucy has confirmed to Stellar magazine the pair were gay, in love – and it’s no big deal.

“That’s where the characters settled. At first, even [Renee O’Connor and I] didn’t see that coming, but the producers and writers knew what they were doing.

“And it doesn’t even matter. Who cares any more? Gay is part of normal. I know in other parts of the world this is still a new concept but, for god’s sake, we just want total equality,” she told the publication.

She has said that during the years she was playing the role, she had been undecided on the nature of the relationship, but in a 2003 interview with Lesbian News magazine, she said that after viewing the series finale, she had come to see Xena and Gabrielle’s relationship as definitely gay, adding “they’re married, man”.

Her icon reputation became cemented after her “graphic lesbian sex scenes” in Spartacus: Gods of the Arena.

Lawless opened eyes in a big way when she took on the role of Lucretia in the Starz! series.

It featured an abundance of sex, sometimes wild sex, with Lawless front and centre in many of these, including lesbian sex scenes.

What may come as a surprise on top of her performing these scenes is that the series was produced by her husband, Rob Tapert (Evil Dead). Lawless followed up Spartacus with Spartacus: Gods of the Arena.

But it’s not just been on the screen where she has played a big part in gay lives, she has also appeared at gay pride events such as the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras.

While her support of LGBT rights, including her public support for same-sex marriage, in 2017 Lawless was given the Star 100–Ally of the Year award at the Australian LGBTI Awards ceremony.

These days, there hasn’t been much (if any) on-screen work for Lucy Lawless, who lives in her native New Zealand with husband Tapert, and their three children.

She does have an Instagram account with almost 300K followers, but even that has gone a bit dark as of late, with her last post around 18 months ago.

Back then, she was showcasing her ageless beauty.

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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk