Jade Thirlwall has lead celebrities in supporting Kit Connor after he claimed he was “forced” to come out.
The Heartstopper actor tweeted on Monday: “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.”
The 18-year-old, who stars as Nick Nelson in the Netflix show, had been accused of “queer-baiting” after a video surfaced, which showed him holding hands with his female co-star Maia Reficco.
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
— Kit Connor (@kit_connor) October 31, 2022
Jade spoke out on her Instagram story to show her support for Kit, following his shock announcement.
“This is sad and shameful,” the Little Mix star penned. “Some people need to learn to mind their own business and wait until someone allows you into theirs. Love to Kit.”
Beauty and the Beast actor Luke Evans retweeted Kit’s original coming out tweet and wrote: “Seems like things don’t change. I’m sorry to hear what you’re dealing with Kit. Never be forced to speak for yourself and your identity until you are absolutely ready. You owe no explanation to anyone. The trolls of social media are empty and useless. Power to you! Invincible!”
Heartstopper writer Alice Oseman wrote: “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 as F**K. Kit you are amazing.”
Joe Locke, who plays Charlie Spring in Heartstopper, tweeted: “You owe nothing to anyone. I’m so proud of you my friend 💕.”
Sebastian Croft, who portrays Ben Hope, wrote: “Kit Connor, the world doesn’t deserve you. Love you my friend.”
A host of fans also replied to Kit’s tweet.
One Twitter user wrote: “for real i feel so bad for him this is not okay that people had to force him to come out wtf,” and a second said: “i love you kit im so sorry you had to come out this way.”
