Wait, what?

"I’ve interviewed hundreds of queer people over the years about their pop culture influences, and I’ve lost count of how many cite the bad guys as inspirations."

That just makes these pop culture influences hip and stylish. Gays are inspired by them. Straights are as well. That doesn't make the characters gay. It just means that gay people find inspiration in many of the same things that straight people do.

"Cruella, whose character was based on the queer actress Tallulah Bankhead."

I googled her name and read her Wikipedia entry and wow! I highly recommend reading it; she lived an incredible and unapologetic life.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tallulah_Bankhead

Maybe I'm in the minority, but I'll push back on your assertion that gay-coded Disney villains are icons in the gay community. I've actually been pretty offended by the coded gay stereotypes so often used as villains, especially when Disney refuses to provide any meaningful positive LGBT characters.

gay furry geek here, I love seeing this stuff in the Stranger