The 100 fans organize LGBTQ fundraiser in defiance of controversial episode

Following the events of the most recent episode of The 100's third season, a group of loyal fans have started a fundraising campaign to bring more attention and support to the LGBTQ community.

For those that haven't seen the episode yet, there will be major spoilers from this point forward. Consider this your official warning.

In one of the most intense moments The 100 has ever seen, beloved character Lexa was killed off after taking a bullet meant for her on-screen partner, Clarke. Fans were outraged that one of their favorite — and openly gay — characters on the series, was killed off. Especially mere minutes after finally giving her the romantic closure with Clarke that the writers had teased all season.

Fans were also upset because Lexa's death falls into the archaic trope of having one character in a gay or lesbian relationship killed off, never allowing for the same happy ending that a heterosexual couple would enjoy. The trope, sometimes known as "bury your gays," has been around in fiction for quite some time. The widespread saturation of the trope has created a media environment where gay couples who get to stay together without one or the other of them dying a horrible death are vanishingly rare. With the already slim representation for LGBTQ characters in mainstream media, the death of a prominent gay character is a bigger loss for folks who don't have many other characters like them to turn to.

Now, a dedicated group of Lexa fans (who refer to themselves as Leskru) have started a campaign for The Trevor Project. The goal is to bring more attention to not only the LGBTQ community, but also the representation of queer characters on television.

"Since the airing of episode 3x07 of the CW's The100, many LGBT forums and SM outlets have been permeated with outcry over the mishandling of a beloved fictional character (Lexa) who served as a beacon in the lives of many young LGBT and non-LGBT persons," a statement reads on the fundraising page. "It also serves to reinforce the positive aspects of the minority it has CHOSEN to depict with a chance to break barriers the LGBT community would not otherwise be given."

Fans of the show expressed outrage on Twitter, calling out the writers for killing off one of the only characters that represented the LGBTQ community. The episode's writer, Javier Grillo-Marxuach (Lost), thanked fans — even those attacking him for the episode — for their opinions and said that he was listening to everything they had to say.

The Trevor Project, which was founded in 1998, provides crisis intervention and suicide prevention support for LGBTQ youth and teens.