Heartstopper’s Kit Connor has returned to Twitter for the first time in months with an announcement: the 18-year-old star of Netflix’s hit queer series has come out as bisexual.
“Back for a minute,” Connor wrote in an October 31 Tweet, his first since September. “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, who plays a bisexual high school student coming to terms with his sexuality in the series, had previously been a regular user of Twitter, reposting a video of himself and the rest of the Heartstoppers cast confronting anti-LGBTQ protesters at London Pride in July, among other tweets about the show and its impact on fans.
But when asked about his sexual identity in interviews about the series, Connor stated that he wasn’t ready to label himself.
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“We’re still all so young,” he said of himself and co-star Joe Locke on the podcast Reign With Josh Smith. “To start sort of speculating about our sexualities and maybe pressuring us to come out when maybe we’re not ready… 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.”
“I honestly found it a little bit funny how they just make assumptions about [our sexualities]” Connor said of Heartstopper fans. “It’s 2022. It feels strange to make assumptions about someone’s sexuality just based on hearing their voice or seeing their appearance. I feel like that’s a very interesting, slightly problematic assumption to make.”
After being photographed on the set of his new film, A Cuban Girl’s Guide to Tea and Tomorrow, holding hands with costar Maia Reficco, fans began accusing him of “queerbaiting.”
The term generally refers to deceptively implying queerness or affiliation with the LGBTQ community to attract an audience. High-profile personalities like Harry Styles and Cardi B have also faced accusations of queerbaiting recently.
In mid-September, the accusations on Twitter seemingly drove Connor from the social media app.
“This is a silly silly app,” he wrote in a September 12 post. “bit bored of it now, deleting twitter :)”
this is a silly silly app. bit bored of it now, deleting twitter :)
— Kit Connor (@kit_connor) September 12, 2022
