Kit Connor broke his silence on feeling pressured to publicly come out as bisexual.
The Heartstopper star, 19, recalled how being accused of queerbaiting by fans pushed him to address his sexuality. “I just felt like it wasn’t something I was ready to talk about. I wasn’t angry. I was just slightly disappointed by this reaction,” Connor, who plays Nick Nelson in the hit Netflix series, told British Vogue on Tuesday, July 4.
Connor noted that he previously didn’t have plans to address his personal life, adding, “I think there’s almost a feeling that because I’d been in the industry for a little while, there was almost this understanding that it’s like, ‘Oh, well, he can take it. I think ‘forced’ isn’t the right word I would use, but I would say that I would have preferred to do it another way. I also don’t know if I would have ever done it. But at the end of the day, I don’t regret it. In many ways, it was really empowering.”
Heartstopper focuses on high school student Charlie (Joe Locke) who finds himself crushing on his new friend Nick (Connor) after being outed. The popular rugby player starts to question his sexuality after growing closer to Charlie.
Connor’s personal life became a major topic of conversation online in the wake of the show’s success — and after he was spotted spending time with his costar from A Cuban Girl’s Guide to Tea and Tomorrow Maia Reficco. After fans claimed the Rocketman star was capitalizing on speculation that he isn’t straight, Connor made a rare statement about his dating life.
“Back for a minute. i’m bi. congrats for forcing an 18 year old to out himself. i think some of you missed the point of the show. bye,” he tweeted in October 2022.
In response, Connor received an outpouring of love from the Heartstopper cast and crew. The author of the Heartstopper graphic novels, Alice Oseman, replied, “I truly don’t understand how people can watch Heartstopper and then gleefully spend their time speculating about sexualities and judging based on stereotypes. I hope all those people are embarrassed as F—K. Kit you are amazing 💖.”
During Wednesday’s interview, Connor recalled coming to terms with his sexual orientation before taking on the role of Nick. “It was just a very natural process for me. I didn’t really have an ‘Oh, s—t’ moment. It just became more and more evident,” he explained.
Connor praised his family for being “super accepting and inclusive,” which was vastly different from his experience at an all-boys school. “I was in a very heteronormative atmosphere,” he continued. “It wasn’t hugely inclusive. It wasn’t really accepted in a lot of ways.”
The His Dark Materials star went on to call out the stereotypical narrative around bisexuality, saying, “It’s the experience of maybe you’re too straight to be gay and you’re too gay to be straight. So, it’s like, ‘Where do I sit?’ But I feel much more secure in myself now.”
