Kit Connor has opened up about his coming out last year.
The Heartstopper actor told fans he was bisexual last October, after his sexuality had become the topic of discussion and speculation online.
In a post on Twitter, Kit admitted that coming out was something he felt he’d been “forced” into doing, tweeting: “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 discussed this in a new interview with British Vogue, ahead of the release of the second series of the Netflix teen drama.
“I’m a young man, so I’m already kind of going through certain things, in terms of just life and mental health. I just needed to let that energy out,” he said of his tweet.
“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.”
Kit, who plays Nick Nelson in the hit show, continued: “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’.”
He explained that he didn’t think “forced” was the right word to describe his coming out, but continued: “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.”
After Kit’s post, Heartstopper’s showrunner Alice Oseman was among the first to voice their support, and condemn those who “gleefully spend their time speculating about sexualities”.
“I truly don’t understand how people can watch Heartstopper and then gleefully spend their time speculating about sexualities and judging based on stereotypes,” they wrote.
“I hope all those people are embarrassed as f**k. Kit you are amazing.”
Olivia Colman, who plays Kit’s on-screen mother in Heartstopper, also told Variety: “I am so proud of him, but I am not proud of how people bullied him.”
“I think people should be allowed to have their own journey,” she continued. “But I’m incredibly proud of him as a young man to deal with all of that and be in the spotlight. It’s unfair. But he’s amazing. He’s a very beautiful human being.”
In May last year, Kit had explained why he’d previously chosen not to label his sexuality when he appeared on the Reign With Josh Smith podcast.
“I just think that there’s a danger with things on social media,” he said.
“In the cast, we’re all young – I’m 18 – and we have a few people in their early 20s as well, and to start speculating about our sexualities and maybe pressuring us to come out when maybe we’re not ready.”
He added: “I mean, for me, I just feel like I’m perfectly confident and comfortable in my sexuality, but I’m not too big on labels and things like that.
“I’m not massive about that. And I don’t feel like I need to label myself, especially not publicly.”
See the full feature with Kit Connor in the August issue of British Vogue, available via digital download and on newsstands from Tuesday 18 July.
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