Kit Connor opens up about thirst traps and feeling fan pressure to get buff
Netflix dropped the first season of Heartstopper and made us all believe in love again, but the sweet romance series hasn’t left our thoughts since.That’s due, in part, to the hit’s charming young cast, who all became stars overnight.
And that goes especially for leads Kit Connor and Joe Locke, who haven’t left the headlines since—for better or for worse.Now, in anticipation of Heartstopper‘s second season on August 3, Connor is opening up about the whirlwind that has been his life after he was introduced to the world as Nick Nelson, from the coming out to the bulking up and everything in between.In a new profile with Vulture, the 19-year old actor gets honest about his newfound fame and the relentless pressure and scrutiny he’s faced since.Looking back on his coming out as bi last fall—after months of “fans” accusing him of queer-baiting and demanding he reveal his sexuality—Connor says he was “disappointed” by the way everything went down:“I was really trying, you know,” he shares. “I really was trying to set that boundary.
It was my private life, and I can understand why people would want to know, but I was also, you know, an 18-year-old kid.”The good news is that, once he did come out, the response was “overwhelmingly positive.” Friends, family, his Heartstopper family—even big stars like Luke Evans (and a few more celebs he refuses to “name-drop”)—reached out to show their support, which Connor says gave him “a lot of hope for mankind.”But that’s not the only instance where the young star felt pressure from fans to make a big change in his life.
