‘Heartstopper’ Star Kit Connor ‘Would Have Preferred’ to Come Out as Bisexual on His Own Terms

After Kit Connor — star of Netflix's Heartstopper — announced he was bisexual in October after mounting accusations of queerbaiting, the teenage actor looked back on the moment he publicly came out. 

"I would say that I would have preferred to do it another way," he told British Vogue in an interview published Tuesday. "I also don't know if I would have ever done it."

Last year, Connor tweeted, "I'm bi. congrats for forcing an 18 year old to out himself," after some fans on social media began questioning his sexuality. Ultimately, Connor said he felt like his hand had been forced.

"I just felt like it wasn't something I was ready to talk about," he told British Vogue. "I wasn't angry. I was just slightly disappointed by this reaction."

Still, Connor is ultimately grateful it happened, saying, "At the end of the day I don't regret it. In many ways it was really empowering."

Connor explained that he was already in the process of figuring out his sexuality before being cast in Heartstopper.

"It was just a very natural process for me," he said. "I didn't really have an 'Oh, sh–' moment. It just became more and more evident."

In fact, Connor's own journey mirrored that of his Heartstopper character Nick Nelson, a bisexual rugby player at Truham Grammar School. 

"I was in a very heteronormative atmosphere," he explained. "It wasn't hugely inclusive. It wasn't really accepted in a lot of ways."

Connor divulged that accepting his own bisexuality hasn't been totally easy, but he's come a long way in a short amount of time.

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

The second season of Heartstopper drops Aug. 3 on Netflix.