Like most things, social taboos can be ranked from mild to absolute nope. And on the latter side of the spectrum lies a concept so taboo that even pointing it out in media feels awkward. And that is flirting between siblings.
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But, interestingly enough, many folks don’t really pick up on these contextually awkward cues in movies and TV. Can’t blame them—they just wanna unwind with a movie. Until someone points it out, that is.
Actress and comedian Mindy Kaling has recently made a remark on Twitter how white families on television are often rather flirty with each other. And she’s not wrong here, as folks online started pointing out characters and their relationships as siblings that were… well, cringe, for a lack of a better word.
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You can't but feel awkward thinking there's a good number of TV shows that display a flirty relationship between siblings, a discussion started by The Office star Mindy Kaling
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So, the story goes that Mindi Kaling—actress, comedian, and author, among many other amazing things, best known for her role as Kelly Kapoor in the Office (U.S.)—tweeted out how white families on television, specifically brothers and sisters, tend to be written with a dash of flirtiness.
And it didn’t take long for folks to start providing proof of this. At this point, it does beg the question of what were the screenwriters thinking—it’s a constant theme, it seems—but that is besides the point.
Folks were quick to point out specific examples, like Casey and Derek from Disney's Life with Derek
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Or Ross and Monica from Friends
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Callie and Brandon from The Fosters (technically a foster, but hey)
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Lu and Valerio from Elite
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Folks were pointing out everything from subtle, perhaps Ross and Monica from Friends, to not so subtle, like Fiona and Declan from Degrassi: The Next Generation, to that is to be expected, like Cersei and Jaime from Game of Thrones, to the classic Folgers commercial.
Shiv and Roman from Succession
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Cher and Josh from Clueless
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Sam and Dean from Supernatural
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Elena and Jeremy from The Vampire Diaries
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Image credits: CBS Television Distribution
This also added to the success of the original tweet that garnered over 52,300 likes and thousands of retweets, and the tweet was picked up by a number of online news media outlets.
Lucrezia and Cesare from The Borgias
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Fiona and Declan from Degrassi: The Next Generation
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Cersei and Jaime from Game of Thrones
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Cheryl and Jason from Riverdale
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Greg and Marcia from A Very Brady Sequel
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While you can continue scrolling because there’s more where that came from, if you do need more internet goodness, we recommend checking out our extensive Movies and TV category. But if you’re feeling lucky—or chaotic—you can try this, this, this, this, this, or this.
The 2009 Folgers coffee Christmas TV commercial
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Brandon and Brenda from Beverly Hills, 90210
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Luke and Leah from Star Wars
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Dexter and Debra from Dexter
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Image credits: CBS Television Distribution