How 'Heartbreaker' Star Kit Connor Was 'Forced' to Come Out as Bisexual

Heartstopper actor Kit Connor says he was "forced" to come out as bisexual amid accusations of "queerbaiting" after his star-making role on the hit Netflix series.

The coming-of-age story based on Alice Oseman's 2018 graphic novel of the same name follows the journey of love between teens Nick Nelson (Connor) and Charlie Spring (Joe Locke).

Connor broke his Twitter hiatus on Monday with a brief message telling his fans he was "bi" and accused others of missing the point of the show.

The 18-year-old tweeted: "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."

A number of people online had accused him of "queerbaiting" by taking the role of a gay character because they presumed Connor was straight in real life.

Queerbaiting is when straight people appropriate LGBTQ culture for clout or profit and do not correctly credit the community from which they have taken inspiration.

Connor quit Twitter in September after months of trolling about his sexuality since the show first premiered on Netflix in April.

"[T]witter is so funny man. apparently some people on here know my sexuality better than I do...," he wrote in May.

But he returned to the social media platform to reveal his sexuality as a means to silence his critics and justify his performance.

Connor was quickly inundated with messages of support, including many people sharing pages from the graphic novel that read, "It's rude to speculate about people's sexuality."

Bisexual advocate Lewis Oakley told Newsweek that Connor had been put in a "dangerous" position and no one should ever be forced to come out before they are ready.

Oakley also said Connor's forced outing was "toxic" and LGBTQ people had painted themselves into a corner by expecting all actors who portray queer characters to first prove their credentials to do so.

"The aspect of being bisexual is that it can take a lot longer to work out than if you're gay," he explained.

The columnist described how he didn't realize he was bisexual until he was 19 because even though he was attracted to men and women he didn't "understand" it.

Oakley said there has been a tendency to "rush people out" of the closet and if they were not public about their sexuality before that, it "must be for a reason."

"If you're not ready to come out, maybe it's because you're not exactly sure what label is the correct one for you," he told Newsweek, adding "I could never say to someone, 'you should come out,' because it is so individual for them."

Oakley referred to the significantly worse mental health outcomes for bisexual people compared with other LGBTQ people because of a struggle for acceptance both within the LGBTQ community and externally.

He also cited examples of high-profile people who came out as bisexual only to later relabeled themselves as gay or lesbian, such as reality star Ollie Locke from Made in Chelsea.

"Especially with public figures, it's so important that they're allowed to come out at a time and a place that suits them, because if they if they do rush out, and may use the wrong label, or they're not sure they were ready, it can have negative consequences for other people that use the label of bi," Oakley said.

Connor may face the added pressure of being a spokesperson for all bisexual people after coming out, a position he might not be ready to fill.

"He's only 18. To feel you're being forced out would probably leave a bad taste in your mouth... he's probably going to be asked to comment on everything that happens, when he wasn't even ready to come out," Oakley explained.

"It's a very tough situation. It would affect your mental health."

LGBTQ nonprofit organization Stonewall also expressed solidarity with Connor saying it was "unethical and unacceptable" for anyone to be forced into coming out.

"Coming out is a deeply personal decision that no one should be pressured into. LGBTQ+ people should be able to come out on our terms and it is deeply troubling to hear of Kit's experience," Stonewall CEO Nancy Kelley told Newsweek.

"It is unethical and unacceptable for anyone, including our own community, to place pressure on us to come out. We send our full support and solidarity to Kit."

Other fans and prominent LGBTQ pundits on Twitter also condemned Connor's forced coming out, with one even describing the incident as "unforgivable."

Journalist Patrick Lenton wrote: "there is a frenzied entitlement to people's sexuality at the moment, and it's really s***. It's leading to a kind of moralistic witchhunt, where in order to sidestep accusations of 'queerbaiting,' you need to verify your queerness - usually to people who aren't queer themselves."

Writer Bec Shaw added: "This all sucks... we live in an unprecedented time of openly queer actors and artists and musicians. Support THEM! Stop dissecting peoples lives who are either clearly straight or not comfortable being out. Get a grip."

BBC TV critic Scott Bryan commented: "What happened to Kit Connor is unforgivable. The pressure on people to publicly label who they are when it is their personal life. The absolute worst."

Connor had previously spoke about being uncomfortable declaring his sexuality publicly.

"In regards to my tweets, I just think that there's a danger with things on social media,"

"In the cast, I'm 18 and we have a few people in their early 20s, and even with those older members of the cast, we're all so young, and to start speculating about our sexualities and maybe pressuring us to come out when maybe we're not ready," he told Digital Spy in May.

"I mean, for me, I just feel like I'm perfectly confident and comfortable in my sexuality, but I'm not too big on labels and things like that. I'm not massive about that. And I don't feel like I need to label myself, especially not publicly. That tweet was slightly calling them out but also find it funny.

"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."

Heartstopper became an instant hit on Netflix, and its stars have since become beloved spokespeople for LGBTQ communities around the world. In July, they shutdown homophobic protesters at the London Pride parade by dancing in front of them and singing loudly to drown them out.

Netflix renewed Heartstopper for two more seasons after it reached the top 10 most viewed shows in 54 countries within weeks of airing.

The Heartstopper hashtag on TikTok also had 4.3 billion views in one month after the show premiered and sales of Oseman's graphic novel jumped 1,700 percent in the U,S,, according to Netflix.