Why can't they put two and two together lol.
I’m pretty sure they can, it’s probably just coming from a place of frustration because of how the questions about his sexuality were handled and I do get that, it doesn’t justify calling him slurs or invalidating bisexuality as a whole tho, that’s always wrong. The idea of him “pretending to be bisexual and then only being seen with women” is likely a result of what this other anon pointed out https://www.tumblr.com/alarrytale/804348684731072512/i-understand-that-it-is-more-profitable-to-be it is the results of some clelebrities queerflagging and then rejecting speculation about their sexuality, staying in the closet and gaslighting fans. I’ve even seen someone say “he graduated from the Harry Styles school of queerbaiting” and well… Harry has caused that type of harm to the community unfortunately with his decisions, but I digress…
If Hudson had said he’s bisexual from the start and didn’t act so weird when he was asked about his sexuality, only to then start alluding to it during interviews but never actually saying it, I think the reaction from the public would’ve been different. In a world where queer people barely get any representation and always get called freaks when we speculate about celebrities’ sexuality, I understand where those people are coming from, I don’t condone the slurs of course, but the sentiment I do get it, ambiguity is not enough, subtle hints are not enough either.
So what are the issues here, that makes people resort to homophobic slurs and losing sight of the big picture?
Wanting queer actors to play queer roles for accurate portrayals and representation?
Wanting all queer actors taking on queer roles to be out public as queer to help normalise queerness and make it easier for out actors to get roles?
Or is it gay men taking an issue with being represented by a queer man who appears to be bisexual and in a relationship with a woman?
Let's go back a bit and look at what Hudson has said about this topic. Not what the director has said on his behalf, but what Hudson has said himself (and what Connor has said). Because i think it could be down to lack of reading comprehension:
From the Deadline interview:
DEADLINE: GLAAD recently released a report that nearly half of LGBTQ characters are disappearing from television this year. What does it feel like to be part of a show that’s just so unapologetically queer and a lot of people are seeing themselves represented?
STORRIE: Yeah, it feels great. I think that this community that it really speaks to, is so culturally impactful, now more than ever, and I think that this is really showing people just how much this does resonate with the world, in and outside of that community. I just want people to know that we’re so enthusiastic about these people and we relate to them so much, and we love this form of love.
WILLIAMS: And we love this story.
CS just want us to know that they "relate to them so much". He's speaking for both of them. I don't think he means relating to having daddy issues or bottling up emotions. I think he means relating to the queer experience...
DEADLINE: And I feel like anytime there’s a big queer project like this, it seems inevitable that people are going to be speculating about your sexuality.
WILLIAMS: Of course, it’s just the nature of celebrity as well too.
Yes, it IS the nature of celebrity (i have spoken about this a million times when closeting is conflated with privacy). I also read this as "People will speculate, it's natural, nothing we can control or try to fight. We knowingly chose to be celebrities, so we will have to accept this".
DEADLINE: Or just accusing you of gay baiting. How does it feel having to separate your personal from the professional?
WILLIAMS: I think there’s never a question for me, when I would dream of becoming in the public eye, that I would want just a level of privacy. But of course, I agree. I want queer people telling queer stories, but also, there’s the element of Connor and I—we’re best friends, and we love expressing that physically. You see people who infer or assume, and you kind of have to let that go. But then again, I never wanna stop expressing the love I have for Connor physically, and I’m never really going to, and I think multiple things can be true at once. We want queer people telling queer stories. There’s an element of, also you can’t ask that in an audition room. But I think what Jacob said really sums it up the best, which is, you have to gauge how enthusiastic they are about the story. And they could have paid me $10 and just fed me, and I’m doing the story. I really thought I was gonna get nothing for this, and I just loved the story so much, and I want to be a part of that. And Connor as well, I’m sure feels the same. So, I think that’s the only thing you can gauge.
So much to unpack here. First; he wants a level of privacy, and to separate the professional from the private. He doesn’t say that his sexuality is a part of what he wants to be private, mind. Secondly. He wants queer people to tell queer stories. He says it twice. He includes Connor the second time. "But of course, i agree", he says.
And then he says that people infer or assume, and you have to let that go. Again, he knows this is the nature of celebrity. Then he says that he won't ever let people who think he's queerbaiting stop him from publicly loving on Connor.
He then says that "multiple things can be true at once". He can mean a lot of different things by that. He can mean that it's valid to think they're gay baiting/queer baiting/gayforpay, but it's also valid not all queer people who do queer roles are out publicly. It's valid that some queer people want privacy, like it's valid that some straight people want privacy. We all want queer actors to do queer shows. But you can’t ask if someone is queer in an audition. It's a job interview essentially. You have to infer it in other ways. He's basically saying "I'd do this for free, because i'm queer and want to represent because i relate to this character and story so much, take a hint". And then he's also saying the same thing goes for Connor.
He ends it with "that's the ONLY thing you can gauge" aka the thing you should look for when asking if this actor is queer and able to accurately portray the queer experience and represent us, is how committed we are and how important it is to us to do this. Money means shit.
STORRIE: Totally. I think there’s so much energy that is coming at us with the rise of this show, and for me, at least, I think it’s important for me to have a little bit of separation from the character in the show. All I can really say is that I love Ilya, I love the community that this is a part of and that this caters to. I think that’s so much more interesting and valuable than doing just another run-of-the-mill, straight story. Who I date, who I sleep with, who this, that, whatever, I’m gonna keep that to myself. But regardless, I think this is super important, and I think also on top of that, it’s just really cool.
Connor ends the interview by validating Hudson's assumptions about him. For Connor, it's important to separate himself from his character. Ilya is bisexual, while Connor most likely is gay. So i get that. He then says "All i can really say" as if there is a limit to what he can say. Now whether that's a self-imposed limit or not? We can't possibly know.
He does list some things he's going to keep to himself. All of these things relates to other people, in order to protect THEIR privacy. He doesn’t say he's keeping his own sexuality to himself. There is a big difference. It's like "You can tell your parents you're gay without listing every guy you're fucking". Also, seeing Connor protect his ex-bfs privacy, but his ex-bf having a very public menty b over Connor on social media, makes me respect Connor so much.
Tldr; Both HW and CS are queer men, it's obvious if you know how to read. Both HW and CS are okay with people speculating and infering things, queer people should tell queer stories, accusations of queerbaiting won't stop them from acting as queer men towards each other and wanting to protect the privacy of those who are involved with them romanticly/sexually, does not mean they also want to protect their own sexuality. If they wanted to protect their own sexuality, they wouldn't act like they currently are lol.
Again, would it be better if they were both publically out as queer? Yes. However, at the end of the day, it's their lives. We don’t know what's really keeping them from being public about it. If it's affecting other people's privacy, or if it's the production company, or themselves who is chosing to go about things this way. None of this warrents homophobic slurs or queerbaiting accusation. They have shown themselves to be nothing but queer. I think the comparisons to Harry are ridiculous for many reasons, and i could go on about it forever.
These two people are good people. They're on a crusade to bring back queer joy, pride and happiness. Read between the lines and try to enjoy it. Because it's beautiful to watch.
