Young Hollywood is coming out in droves, and earlier in their careers than stars of previous generations.
Call it Christmas in June — only instead of presents under the tree, it’s young stars bursting out of the closet.
Almost every morning this Pride month, a different celebrity has declared their allegiance to the rainbow mafia. From the already famous to those just kicking off their careers, an entire generation of young stars is openly embracing queerness to a degree never before seen in Hollywood.
Take Game of Thrones star Sophie Turner, who sent fans into a frenzy with an Instagram Story last week that included the phrases, “time isn’t straight and neither am I,” “move I’m gay,” and the ever subtle, “It's muthafuckin #Pride Month babaaaayyyyy” (in all caps, of course). The post also included “Bi Pride” and “Gay Pride” stickers.
Turner, who is married to Joe Jonas, has briefly touched on her sexuality in the press before, telling Rolling Stone in 2019, “I love a soul, not a gender.”
Meanwhile, X-Men and Love, Simon star Alexandra Shipp spoke about her sexuality for the first time in an emotional Instagram post this week. “I’m not scared anymore,” she wrote. “I have #pride in who I am and what I’m doing on this planet. Shipp, who is 28 years old, also said she regrets not coming out as part of the LGBTQ+ community even sooner. “It’s never too late to be you,” she told her followers.
It’s never too early, either. Olivia Ponton, the 19-year-old model and social media star with more than 6 million TikTok followers told Teen Vogue over Zoom earlier this month, “I want to announce that I’m bisexual, and I’m now proud to be a part of the LGBTQ+ community.”
Turner, Shipp, and Ponton are only the tip of what has been a very queer iceberg of coming out announcements this month.
Hip hop star DreamDoll also came out on Instagram in extravagant style.
“I’m proud to announce that im Bisexual,” she wrote beneath a photo of herself seemingly naked, riding backward on a displaced carousel horse doused in colorful paint. (“Sis we already knew!” replied Chicago rapper Dreezy, referring to hints she’s previously dropped in her music.)
Legacies star Kaylee Bryant likewise chose Instagram as her coming-out medium, writing, “Hi, my name is Kaylee and I’m queer! Happy Pride Month!" beneath a photo of herself waving a Pride flag with her tongue poking out.
Lio Tipton, an alum of America’s Next Top Model who has since starred in Crazy, Stupid, Love, also came out on Instagram. “I am proud to announce I am queer and I identify as non binary,” they wrote beneath an evocative illustration of a figure seemingly torn between categories. “I hope to give as much love and support back to those who continue to show love and support for the Pride community at large,” they wrote.
Larry Saperstein, of the chaotically titled High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, came out as bisexual on TikTok. And elsewhere in the semi-public sphere, Michaela Kennedy Cuomo, youngest daughter of New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, also came out as bisexual on IG. (Is Instagram technically bisexual at this point? Probably so!)
Rewind just 10 years, and it may have been impossible to imagine so many young stars and public figures coming out, and doing so as early in their careers. Recall that a previous generation of celebrities, from Ricky Martin to Tessa Thompson and Elliot Page, were many years into their public lives before openly identifying as LGBTQ+.
Although clearly inspired by Pride month, this flood of coming-out posts also speaks to broader global and cultural trends.
Results from a new Ipsos survey conducted across 27 countries released this week found that Gen Z is twice as likely as the general population to identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, pansexual, omnisexual, or asexual. Those born after 1997 are also nearly four times as likely as people over 40 to identify as transgender, nonbinary, gender non-conforming, genderfluid, or "in another way."
Experts have suggested that the growing number of young people identifying as LGBTQ+ reflects increasing visibility and acceptance. “Younger people are growing up in an environment where being gay, lesbian or bisexual is not as taboo as it was in the past,” Gallup editor Jeffrey Jones told NBC News with regards to a similar survey released earlier this year.
Queer visibility seems to grow exponentially every time a celebrity or public figure with legions of followers on social media decides to open up about their identity. Though it may be easy to overlook the significance of such revelations when there seems to be such a bounty of them, the cumulative effect of these coming out announcements is incalculable. Every person who comes out — famous or otherwise — sets an example for what’s possible.
For anyone else who wants to taste the double dose of queer joy that is coming out during Pride month, we’ve still got 20 days left.
Happy Pride Month Sissy Family !!!
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