“Heartstopper” star Kit Connor said he might never have come out as bisexual if fans hadn’t pressured him to fall out one last time.
“I guess ‘forced’ isn’t the right word I would use,” Connor said in an interview about his coming out process. The interview with British Vogue was published on Tuesday, “But I would say that I would have preferred to do it the other way around. I don’t even know if I would have ever done that. But at the end of the day I don’t regret it. In many ways it was really empowering.”
Connor’s comments come half a year after the star of the Netflix YA series shared his sexuality on social media after feeling pressure from fans speculating about his sexuality. Many accused Connor of “queerbaiting” by playing a bisexual character on the show and attending Pride events during his vacation.
“I’m bi. Connor wrote on Twitter in late October 2022, Congratulations to the 18 year old boy for forcing himself out. I think some of you missed the purpose of the show.
In “Heartstopper”, which was based on the graphic novels by Alice Osman, Connor plays Nick, a rugby player who begins to question his sexuality when he develops a close relationship with Charlie Spring (Joe Locke). who is openly gay. By the end of the first installment of the series, Nick and Charlie have become more than friends.
Recalling the October tweet, Connor said he “just needed to get that energy out”, as the criticisms he received from fans were made up of others’ struggles he was dealing with.
“I’m a young person, so I’m already going through some things in terms of life and mental health,” he said. “I almost feel like that because I’ve been in the industry for a while, there’s almost a sense that it’s like, ‘Oh, well, he can take it.'”
“Heartstopper” Season 1 is streaming now on Netflix and Season 2 premieres August 3.
