Olivia Colman is letting her onscreen son know simply how proud she is of him. On Dec. 1, the Oscar-winner informed Variety simply how a lot she admired her “Heartstopper” costar Kit Connor after he was bullied into popping out as bisexual on social media.
“I’m so pleased with him, however I’m not pleased with how folks bullied him,” Colman stated. “I believe folks must be allowed to have their very own journey. But I’m extremely pleased with him as a younger man to take care of all of that and be within the highlight. It’s unfair, however he is superb. He’s a really stunning human being.”
Connor is finest identified for enjoying Nick on the LGBTQ+ Netflix rom-com “Heartstopper,” which follows teenagers as they navigate their manner by faculty, their emotions, and their sexualities. While the sequence itself spotlights LGBTQ+ characters in a fantastically genuine manner — giving a lot of them ample house to come back out in their very own time — the compassionate messaging behind the present seems to have been misplaced on many, as evidenced by what Connor went by with a few of the present’s viewers.
On Oct. 31, The “Rocketman” star wrote a tweet saying he’s bisexual, however he added that he felt compelled to come back out after being harassed by followers. The actor wrote, “again for a minute. i am bi. congrats for forcing an 18 12 months previous to out himself. i believe a few of you missed the purpose of the present. bye.”
Moments after Connor’s tweet, supportive feedback flooded his timeline, each with love for the star and anger on the circumstances below which he felt he needed to make the announcement. “Heartstopper” author Alice Oseman responded by tweeting, “I actually do not perceive how folks can watch Heartstopper after which gleefully spend their time speculating about sexualities and judging primarily based on stereotypes. I hope all these persons are embarrassed as F*CK. Kit you’re superb 💖.”
Joe Locke, his “Heartstopper” castmate who performs Charlie, replied by tweeting, “You owe nothing to anybody. I’m so pleased with you my pal 💕.” Kizzy Edgell, who performs Darcy Olsson, tweeted, “love u package im sorry this has been so disgustingly tough on you. been handled so unfairly,” whereas costar Sebastian Croft, who performs Ben Hope, wrote, “Kit Connor, the world would not deserve you. Love you my pal ❤️.”
The toxicity that prompted Connor’s tweet was largely because of him being accused of queerbaiting by followers following photos of him holding arms along with his costar in “A Cuban Girl’s Guide to Tea and Tomorrow,” queer actress Maia Reficco. Due to troubling feedback directed on the actor, he give up Twitter in September, writing, “This is a foolish foolish app. bit bored of it now, deleting twitter :),” but he made a fleeting return to set the file straight.
Connor had additionally beforehand spoken about pointless hypothesis surrounding his sexuality and his unease at being labeled. “To begin type of speculating about our sexualities and possibly pressuring us to come back out when possibly we’re not prepared. For me, I simply really feel completely assured and comfy with my sexuality,” he stated on the “Reign With Josh Smith” podcast in May. “But I do not really feel the necessity to actually, you understand — I’m not too huge on labels and issues like that. I’m not huge about that.”
Many followers had been fast to answer Connor’s tweet and voice their frustration. “Reading tweets like that is heartbreaking . . . particularly when Heartstopper taught so many individuals world wide the true worth of somebody’s private popping out story. I’m so sorry you had this second taken away from you Kit, however let’s hope folks will be taught from it!” one wrote. Another tweeted, “I’m so disenchanted on this fandom.”
Connor himself summed up the weird phenomenon of judging, labeling, and making unwarranted theories of these within the public eye. “It feels a bit unusual to make assumptions about an individual’s sexuality simply primarily based on listening to their voice or seeing their look. I really feel like that is a really attention-grabbing, barely problematic type of assumption to make,” he stated.
Yet once more, we’re reminded that celebrities are human, too; followers aren’t entitled to every part. No one ought to really feel pressured to publicly announce their sexuality earlier than they’re snug in doing or saying so — particularly a young person.
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