Over the past month, Heartstopper has become an instant classic of young queer crush content, and its cast is blowing up just as fast.
Leads Kit Connor and Joe Locke are up for National Television Awards, Yasmin Finney has been announced for an upcoming installment of Doctor Who, and creator Alice Oseman has signed on with the cast for two more seasons with Netflix.
For Connor, however, not all of the newfound attention has been so welcome. A couple weeks back, he took to Twitter to address the rumblings of speculation over his personal sexuality since playing bisexual Nick Nelson in Heartstopper.
twitter is so funny man. apparently some people on here know my sexuality better than I do…
— Kit Connor (@kit_connor) May 2, 2022
Connor has never made any public statement defining his sexuality, and in a new interview for the Reign with Josh Smith podcast, he made it clear that he doesn’t plan to any time soon.
“For me, I just feel like I’m perfectly confident and comfortable with my sexuality,” he stated. “I don’t feel like I need to label myself, especially not publicly.”
Connor directly referenced the aforementioned tweet, saying, “That tweet was sort of slightly calling them out. I honestly found it a little bit funny how they just make assumptions.”
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“It’s 2022. It feels a bit strange to make assumptions about a person’s sexuality just based on hearing their voice or seeing their appearance. I feel like that’s a very interesting, slightly problematic sort of assumption to make.”
Further, the 18-year-old pointed out that the cast members being speculated about are of an age where they may not even fully know themselves yet.
“We’re still all so young, and to start sort of speculating about our sexualities and maybe pressuring us to come out when maybe we’re not ready?”
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One thing is for sure: Kit Connor has plenty of life ahead of him, and however he ends up living it is his business.
Donston
It may be 2022, but it’s also people and social media. Folks are gonna gossip, speculate and make assumptions. We also know by now that it doesn’t matter what year it is or how “queer friendly” you are or even if you’re “out”, people (especially dudes), can still feel a great degree of queer insecurities, gay resentments, hetero pressures, internalized phobias, etc. But yes, labeling folks you don’t know is always going to be “problematic.” And while you can speculate and gossip, no one knows anyone else’s sexual dimensions and sexual journeys, their preferences, their struggles, their motivations, where they are in the gender, sexual, affection, romantic, emotion, relationship, commitment ambition spectrum. Just leave these random young people alone.
cuteguy
I LOVE THIS SHOW. And Nick and Charlie are the most adorable duo. This is the greatest show on tv. Much better than Bridgerton. And only slightly better than Elite.
glennmcbride
I absolutely agree.
50 50
Agreed. Surely anyone respecting the would know it all about the importance to understanding your sexuality in your own time on your own terms. Calling him out is dismissing the show.
christopher lord
Give this show all the awards. Connor and Locke have charisma to spare, and Connor’s performance, in particular, should be required viewing for its subtlety, conviction, and warmth. In interviews he is articulate, charming, and passionate in his support for the LGBT community, whatever his orientation. Drop the intrusive questions and let him become the major talent he almost certainly will be. He turned eighteen less than three months ago, so leave him alone.
Donston
I decided to look it up on Twitter and saw a couple tweets claiming that if he’s genuinely an “ally” he’d be out. First, we need to get over this “ally” shit. But also, there are people who are out for many years but will still say shit that reflects femme-shaming or homo shaming or bottom shaming or gay insecurities or queer resentments. A lot of folks just never grow beyond that stuff. They think being “out” is the end of the journey instead of confronting all their issues and insecurities. While many people (particularly males) don’t know how to maturely deal with stuff like traumas, fluidity, contradictions, dimensions as far as the gender, sexual, affection, romantic, emotion, commitment spectrum. So, being “out” or adhering to whatever identities is not the be-all. And therefore, when you see someone who is truly “un-problematic” and genuinely queer supportive, trying to forced them “out” makes zero sense. It especially makes no sense to do that to someone in their teens.
glennmcbride
My favorite scene was when Nick’s (Connor) mother reacted to his telling her that charlie was his boy friend. She said, “I am sorry if I ever made you feel like you couldn’t tell me anything.”
cuteguy
@glennmcbride
Olivia Coleman plays the mom (mum as they call it over in the UK) She’s an incredible actress and was a surprise (and deservedly so) winner of a Best Actress Oscar a few years back. The character Nick has the best Mom and is it no wonder he’s so great. The chemistry between Olivia and Kit brought me to tears. This is the best show on tv right now, with incredible casting, storyline and production. What a treasure
Charlie
great
Creamsicle
There’s thing thing that people do in productions where they pretend to be other people with different experiences from their real life. It’s totally wild!
I really liked Heartstopper. I thought it was cute and hit a lot of notes that a teenage me would have loved to see growing up in a religious household and raised by traditionalists with rigid gender roles.
devinn
…….I really hope the next season lives up to the first…I’m almost happy with it ending where it did….and indeed, it deserves awards all around.
LumpyPillows
Loved the show.
Of course many people will focus on who you are dating when you become famous. Comes with the territory, especially when you play a gay role. He does seem to be making a joke about it, which is the healthy response.
Can’t wait for season 2.
cuteguy
Kit may be straight and he just doesn’t want to be attacked for expertly playing a bisexual role. Or he may be lgbtq and he doesn’t want to limit his potential path to super stardom