Initially circulated as a viral video, in 2019 the fragment of the broadcast, along with several other memorable scenes, were used in remixes and as image macros. Some fans were delighted to see the ship become canon, but others saw it as 'queerbaiting' from the writers. 'Why Are You Gay', sometimes spelled 'Why Are You Gae', is a memorable quote from a debate on homosexuality aired by the Ugandan TV channel NBS TV in 2012. In the show's final season in November 2020, Collins' character Castiel professed his love for Dean Winchester (played by Jensen Ackles), then sacrificed himself to save Dean by being dragged to 'superhell.' Throughout the show's 15-season run, fans shipped the two characters together online as 'Destial' or 'DeanCas.' 'I believe and fully support that we need to sanctify the human right to express our identities honestly and to be free to love whomever we choose openly.' I happen to be straight, but I am also a fierce ally and the last thing I want to do is falsely co-opt the struggles of the LGBTQ community,' he wrote on April 25. 'This was not my intention so I need to correct the record: I am not bisexual.
Three days later, after he began to make headlines for making an apparent statement about his sexuality, the 47-year-old said on Twitter that he wanted to 'deeply apologize.'
