‘Heartstopper’ arrived in the spring of 2022 on Netflix to fill a void for a large part of the LGTBI collective who went through their adolescence without romantic comedies in which they could find references. The series quickly climbed to the fifth position in the ranking of series in English with 53 million hours watched in the world. The success promptly confirmed the second seasona from the adaptation of Alice Osman’s graphic novels and launched the protagonists Kit Connor and Joe Locke, along with the rest of the cast, to stardom.
Fame brought Connor to the center of controversy because the series’ most fan audience took the story to personal ground and a lot of criticism arose when some photos of the actor holding hands with actress Maia Reficco were published in November. Accused of ‘queerbaiting’, a term used when LGTBI is used as a false claim, the actor was “forced to come out and say he was bisexual”. And without hiding her anger, she came to reproach the public for not honoring the spirit of the series. “I think some of you have not understood the purpose of the series. Goodbye,” she wrote on his social media.
Now in a interview in The Guardn has insisted on this idea because he believes that the plot of the series demonstrates that “homosexuality is not a stereotype”. In the series it is seen in the case of his character Nick Nelson because it is said of him that “it is impossible for him to be gay being the captain of the rugby team” and it is assumed that he is “the straightest boy in school”.
In fact, about the second season that premieres on August 3 has said that, precisely, it will address Nick’s problems with coming out. Despite having declared his homosexuality, the actor has said that he does not want to be defined by that or by his character in the series. “I would not like to be defined as a gay actor, I want to play all kinds of roles if my career continues,” he explained.
