I was surprised by it, though I suppose I shouldn't be. They probably don't even think of it as homophobia :(

I'm on the fence about representation; it's harder to write experiences you haven't had, but that's no excuse for only writing people of the exact same gender, sexual orientation, and ethnicity as you. On one hand writers are told "write diverse characters" but when they do there's a lot of "you're doing it wrong!" and worse, "stop doing it!" So then writers stop writing with diversity at all, in an endless loop.
I have sometimes thought about including a trans character - as a minor character rather than the protagonist and even then I'm worried about writing sensitively. I don't think its helpful if writers are so terrified of doing it wrong that don't write characters of certain types at all, be that trans characters or lesbian characters or black characters. On the other hand it is essential that representation is handled sensitively, and only people with that lived experience can say if that has been accomplished. It's a complicated subject.