Jinkies! Jeepers! Zoinks! Everyone’s favorite mystery-solving teenagers and their loveable Great Dane have been around for over 50 years. They’ve been through a lot of different iterations together, from the original animated show “Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!” to the recent movie “Scoob!” and more than 70 TV shows, movies, and short films in between.

While much has changed for the Mystery Gang in the years they’ve been together, one fan-started idea has been so popular that it’s followed the gang for decades. This idea being that fan’s beloved nerd, Velma Dinkley, is a lesbian.

For the first 40 years of the character’s existence, Velma was never shown to be dating or romantically interested in anyone, even while all her other friends had many prominent escapades with people of the opposite gender. This noticeable lack of romance for Velma piqued the interest of the LGBTQ+ community long ago, with people believing that Velma’s disinterest in boys was because her attractions lay elsewhere.

Throughout recent decades, there’s been more and more evidence of Velma’s sexuality. In the 2009 movie “Scooby-Doo! The Mystery Begins,” Velma was played by Hayley Kiyoko, a now-famous musical artist dubbed “Lesbian Jesus” by her fans. This casting only furthered people’s agenda for Velma to be confirmed as a lesbian.

In 2020, Tony Cervone, who produced multiple seasons of the show “Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated” and directed “Scoob!” posted on his Instagram a photo of Velma and another female character in front of a rainbow flag captioned “PRIDE.” James Gunn, writer of 2002 “Scooby-Doo” movie, has confirmed that he originally wrote Velma as openly lesbian, but wasn’t allowed to show this on-screen. Needless to say, Velma’s queerness has only gotten stronger as the years go by. But never has she been clearly, undeniably, gay on-screen. Until now, that is. 

In early October, a new movie titled “Trick or Treat Scooby-Doo!” released on streaming services such as HBO Max and Amazon Prime. In celebration of its release, clips from the film went viral on Twitter. These clips showed Velma crushing hard on villainous costume designer Coco Diablo, blushing hard and exclaiming her signature “Jinkies!” Later scenes showed Daphne and Velma together, with Daphne teasing Velma about Diablo being her “type.” Denying it at first, Velma soon breaks down and admits that she’s “crushing big time” on the fashionable villain.

The internet went wild with celebration. After so many years of speculation, it can be argued no more! For a character who has been queer-coded for so long, it was very exciting for the LGBTQ+ community to finally be able to claim her as one of their own. From her brightly-colored turtleneck to her iconic bob with bangs, Velma Dinkley is a frontman for nerdy queer girls everywhere, and we couldn’t be happier to have her as such.