Stewart Perrie
Kit Connor from Netflix's Heartstopper has come out as bisexual.
While it is normally a cause for celebration when someone makes this type of declaration, the 18-year-old says he's only revealing his sexuality to his fans because he felt forced to.
The teenage TV star wrote on Twitter: "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."
Since he revealed his bisexuality on Twitter, fans have rushed to support him.
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One fan wrote: "Reading tweets like this is heartbreaking… especially when Heartstopper taught so many people around the world the true value of someone’s personal coming out story. I’m so sorry you had this moment taken away from you Kit, but let’s hope people will learn from it."
Another added: "You don’t owe anyone anything. You should feel very proud no matter what."
A third said: "I truly don't understand how people can watch Heartstopper and then gleefully spend their time speculating about sexualities and judging based on stereotypes. I hope all those people are embarrassed."
Kit plays Nick in Heartstopper and his character is the typical rugby jock who is liked by his peers and is good at sport.
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He strikes up a friendship with Charlie (Joe Locke) and they eventually develop feelings for one another.
The show is based off Alice Oseman's hit graphic novel of the same name and audiences get to see Nick slowly come to terms with liking both men and women.
Ever since the heartwarming series debuted on the streaming platform earlier this year, Connor has been dogged by questions about his sexual preferences.
He was even accused of queer-baiting by some people on social media as he wasn't open about his sexuality.
Kit said earlier this year: "twitter is so funny man. apparently some people on here know my sexuality better than I do…"
The 18-year-old said in an interview that he felt pressured to publicly comment on the subject after starring in a LGBTQIA+ TV show.
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He explained on the Reign With Josh Smith podcast about how problematic that is as a concept.
"We’re still all so young," he said. "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.”