Heartstopper star Kit Connor has come out as bisexual, but in the most heartbreaking way
Kit Connor, who stars as rugby player Nick in queer coming-of-age drama Heartstopper, has come out as bisexual, saying he felt ‘forced’ into doing so.
The 18-year-old made the announcement after a seven-week absence from Twitter, following accusations of queerbaiting from fans.
“Back for a minute,” Connor wrote. “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.”
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
— Kit Connor (@kit_connor) October 31, 2022
Connor’s last tweet prior to that was on September 12, calling Twitter a “silly silly app” that he would be deleting because he was bored.
The September tweet was seemingly prompted after some online started accusing the star of queerbaiting, when pictures emerged of the actor holding hands with Maia Reficco, his co-star in the upcoming A Cuban Girl’s Guide to Tea and Tomorrow.
The young actor had spoken about public pressure around sexual orientation before, saying in May:
“We’re still all so young. To start sort of speculating about our sexualities and maybe pressuring us to come out when maybe we’re not ready,” Connor told the Reign With Josh Smith podcast.
“For me, I just feel perfectly confident and comfortable with my sexuality. But I don’t feel the need to really, you know — I’m not too big on labels and things like that. I’m not massive about that. I don’t feel like I need to label myself, especially not publicly.”
“It feels a bit strange to make assumptions about a person’s sexuality just based on hearing their voice or seeing their appearance,” Connor added at the time. “I feel like that’s a very interesting, slightly problematic sort of assumption to make.”
Folk on social media flocked to offer the actor support following his announcement, including Heartstopper creator Alice Oseman, who tweeted saying she didn’t “understand how people can watch Heartstopper and then gleefully spend their time speculating about sexualities and judging based on stereotypes”.
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 FUCK. Kit you are amazing 💖
— Alice Oseman Updates (@AliceOseman) October 31, 2022