Heartstopper Actor Joe Locke Comes Out As Gay

Lead actor of the acclaimed Heartstopper series, Joe Locke, has spoken out about his sexuality and came out as gay in a recent interview.

Following the release of the second season of the acclaimed Netflix series, Locke and co-star, Kit Connor, spoke to Teen Vogue on the series success and it’s impact on the 19-year-old’s lives.

During the interview, Locke explains there has been continuous speculation around his sexuality but has always maintained his privacy, ensuring to come out on his own terms.

“Privacy Is A Non-negotiable”

Discussing the impact of the series, Locke mentions the difficulty around sustaining his privacy within the film/TV industry.

“There’s an idea that it’s part of the job to lose your privacy, that you lose your right to having privacy,” says Locke.

“People have assumed and written it, and I haven’t ever corrected anyone because I haven’t felt the need to. But I’ve never specifically stated my sexuality.”

Explaining that he could not remember when he was aware of his sexuality, Locke says that by nine he always thought “I’ll just marry a woman and have kids because it’s what I’m supposed to do.”

Locke then reveals that he has been “openly gay” since he was 12, however, has been wanting to remain “considerate of the sacrifices made by his friends and family” when coming out.

“It’s a weird guilt I sometimes feel that, by association, their lives are affected by choices in my life,” he explained.

He noted that his family have been impacted by his popularity with strangers calling and messaging his family, and his mother needing to create new social media accounts due to ‘fans’ trying to pinpoint her location.

“It’s a mutual thing. I need to learn my boundaries and people need to learn their boundaries. Most attention comes from a really good place, and I hope I always appreciate that,” says Locke.

“I hope the next generation of people in the public eye can change…. I think people are understanding that privacy is a non-negotiable.”

Pressure To Come Out

Locke and Connor also spoke on the pressure to speak on their sexuality, following Connor coming out as bisexual on X (formerly Twitter) last year due to increasing pressure online.

In the X post, Connor said, “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.”

Whilst describing the pressure for him to come out as a “regrettable” and “disappointing” situation, Connor says he “was still happy” following the tweet.

Noting his anxiety around using social media, Connor believes the latest season of the show was reflective and would provide an example of how people should handle “these delicate situations.”

“There were definitely points where I was doing season two and saying certain lines, and I thought,’ This is good, this is how it should be, this is the message that we want to be sending,’” says Connor.

“It felt like certain people didn’t quite understand the show and the original message that we were trying to portray in season one. So if that’s the case, then we’ll just keep hammering it home in season two and hope that people listen.”.

Locke expresses support for his co-star’s coming out saying, “We were all very proud of him, and we’re proud of him controlling the narrative… I’m very proud of him for doing his own thing and what was right for him.”

The Heartstopper TV series, based on the graphic-novel series by Alice Oseman, has received critical and public acclaim for its depiction of teen queer love and identity.

The recent season continues to follow the blossoming relationship between Locke and Connor’s characters, Charlie and Nick, facing the challenges of growing up and their respective journeys of self-discovery.

Heartstopper season 2 is now available to watch on Netflix.