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Emily Prentiss
| Character | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Emily Prentiss |
| Occupation: | |
| Relationships: | |
| Fandom: | Criminal Minds |
| Other: | |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
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Emily Prentiss is a character on Criminal Minds.
Canon
Introduced to the show in season two, Emily Prentiss joined the BAU after Elle Greenaway resigned. During her time on the show, the character has left the BAU twice — faking her own death for one departure — and returned, eventually heading up the BAU. One of her departures was, at least in part, the result of cost-cutting by the show [1] — measures which also saw the character of Jennifer "JJ" Jareau written out for a period of time. However, she has consistently been a popular character in the show, which likely had some influence on the decision to bring her back.
Fandom
Controversy
For some time, and later confirmed in interviews, there were rumours that Emily was initially written as a lesbian. Paget Brewster confirmed that this was true in an interview, and that she and the writing team were enthusiastically on-board with her character being gay.
Tari Jordan: A while ago, it was rumored that Emily may have been dating a woman at some point. Now that she’s back for good, and network constraints aside, what would you think about playing her as bisexual or realizing she’s gay?Paget Brewster: Prentiss being a lesbian was an idea brought up by Ed Bernero when he ran Criminal Minds years ago and I said yes. I don’t remember why that story idea went away but I embrace everything our writers create. I would be happy to play Emily as bisexual or gay because I trust our team would do it well and honorably.
Tari Jordan [2]
During an interview on the afterellen podcast, Kirsten Vangsness — who played Penelope Garcia — briefly talked about how there was a scene written that confirmed Emily was gay, but that it was cut out.
True story — I shouldn’t be saying this, but I’m going to say it… A million years ago when Paget was still on the show, [the writers] came up with this storyline that Paget’s character was going to get up out of bed and there was going to be a woman in bed with her. And they nixed it.Kirsten Vangsness [3]
It is widely discussed and believed that CBS were responsible for forcing the writers to re-write Emily's sexuality[4]. Between this and the earlier reveal that Spencer Reid, another fan favourite character, was originally written to be bisexual and this was also axed (confirmed this time to have been axed by the "powers that be"[5]), this has led to some ill-feelings and distrust when it comes to LGBT representation within Criminal Minds, even after the show moved to Paramount for the reboot, Criminal Minds: Evolution.
This has been especially prevalent with the more recent instances of the official Criminal Minds social media accounts use the fandom smush name for the Emily/JJ pairing of Jemily in promotion of the show. There has been a sense of unease that this is queerbaiting, especially since the reboot of Criminal Minds, Evolution, saw the character of Tara Lewis written as a sapphic character. Fans felt that it was unlikely the show would have a second LGBT character in the show, though some fans remain hopeful.
Shipping
Common Tropes & Storylines
Example Fanworks
| Examples Wanted: Editors are encouraged to add more examples or a wider variety of examples. |
Fanart
Fanfiction
Fanvids
Meta
Archives & Fannish Links
References
- ^ "Criminal Minds: How Paget Brewster's Emily Prentiss Died, Left & Took Over the Show, CBR, 7 September 2024". Archived from the original on 2025-03-07.
- ^ "Tari Jordan, '*EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW* Paget Brewster on Coming Home, Emily's Future! ', 21 November 2016". Archived from the original on 2025-03-07.
- ^ "Captain of the good ship, Je T'Emily. Tumblr, 1 January 2016". Archived from the original on 2025-03-07.
- ^ "Is Emily Prentiss LGBT?, Reddit, r/criminalminds, 14 March 2021". Archived from the original on 2025-03-07.
- ^ "Jackie Willis, 'Criminal Minds' Creator: Reid Was to be Bi-Sexual, ET, 26 October 2012". Archived from the original on 2025-03-07.