We’re not sure if it’s the heartfelt wording of his coming-of-age themed post, the fact that he’s a major swoon, or the aftermath of drinking wine last night currently making us ten times more emotional – but the latest Instagram post from Jonathan Bennett has us feeling all sorts of… things.
In a post to his followers, the actor wrote:
“To celebrate #worldtheaterday I give you a video of a 16 year old gay boy in Ohio. He has a pitchy voice, no rhythm, and can’t dance to save his life.
He’s awkward, his teeth are too big for his face, and he lives in fear every single day because he doesn’t fit in with the rest of the boys in his class. He constantly gets pushed into a locker by an asshole named Justin and when he walks down the halls he gets called a faggot.
He cries himself to sleep every night and develops stomach ulcers because of the stress and the homophobia in his small town. He thinks really dark thoughts and lives miserably in secret.
But there is one place (and only one place)that gives him the tiniest bit of refuge.
His high school theater.
He walks in and for the first time in his life, he feels safe. He feels seen. He actually speaks out loud and isn’t called a faggot and no one makes a mockery of him.
He isn’t ridiculed for being different, he’s CELEBRATED.
He’s not a loser, they actually make him a STAR. They give him leading roles and he goes on to do dozens of shows for years in the safety and comfort of those 4 walls.
He steps out on stage and for the first time in his life, he feels ALIVE.
He is home.
So to celebrate today, grown up Jonathan wants to say thank you to every single person who has ever had anything to do with any theater anywhere at anytime. If you were an actor, a stage manager, lighting, sound, wardrobe, front of house, back of house, even if you just bought a ticket and supported theater. You did so much more than that. You made a safe place for so many struggling little Jonathans out there.
To any one reading this that identifies with my story, know that you are not alone and that you are a star and you deserve to shine bright. And never stop singing and dancing, no matter how good you are because it’s not about being perfect, it’s about shining your light. And the world NEEDS your light.
The curtain’s up, the stage is set, all the little Jonathan’s out there… “You’re on!”
Happy World Theater Day!”
Bennett publicly came out as gay in 2017, revealing that he was in a relationship with his now-fiancée Jaymes Vaughan. Along with various acting and TV roles, he is known for playing Aaron Samuels in the still-iconic Mean Girls back in 2014.
We loved him then, we love him now. Check out the post below. We can’t promise it won’t make you a lil emosh.