‘Heartstopper’ Star Kit Connor Says He Doesn’t Regret Coming out After Facing Pressure on Social Media: “It Was Really Empowering”

Kit Connor opened up about coming out as bisexual in 2022 after facing mounting criticism from Heartstopper fans who thought he was a straight actor playing a bisexual character in the hit Netflix show.

In a new interview with British Vogue ahead of Heartstopper Season 2, Connor said he “felt like it wasn’t something I was ready to talk about,” referring to his sexuality, before adding, “I wasn’t angry. I was just slightly disappointed by this reaction.”

In November 2022, the actor returned to Twitter after he left the social media platform due to the harassment he was facing at the time. “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,” he wrote in a tweet, per British Vogue.

Connor said he “needed to let that energy out” after Heartstopper fans criticized him for “queerbaiting.” The discourse had reached a breaking point, with some even demanding that the actor step down from the show. But the actor maintained that he didn’t necessarily feel “forced” to come out.

“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 said, regarding the pressure he faced to address his sexuality from fans of the show.

“I would say that I would have preferred to do it another way,” he said. “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.”

Connor stars in the series as Nick Nelson, a popular rugby player at an all-boys grammar school. The Netflix romantic comedy series follows his friendship with Charlie Spring (Joe Locke), his openly gay classmate, as it begins to blossom into something more.

The show became a hit amongst Netflix viewers, quickly landing it on the platform’s list of Top 10 English series, and making stars out of its lead actors.

In the interview, Connor explained he had already been coming to terms with his sexuality before working on the show. “It was just a very natural process for me; I didn’t really have an ‘oh, shit’ moment. It just became more and more evident,” he said.

“It’s the experience of maybe you’re too straight to be gay and you’re too gay to be straight,” Connor said. “So it’s like, ‘Where do I sit?’ But I feel much more secure in myself now.”

Connor will reprise his role in Heartstopper Season 2, which returns to Netflix on August 2.