In the series, Nick comes out to his mum in a heartwarming scene (Picture: Netflix)
Olivia Colman has staunchly defended her Heartstopper co-star Kit Connor after he was made to feel ‘forced’ to come out as bisexual, calling out the ‘bullies’ who targeted him.
In the hit Netflix series, Kit played Nick Nelson, a popular boy at school who begins to question his sexuality after spending more time with the lovable Charlie Spring (Joe Locke).
In one of the most heartwarming moments of the show, Nick opens up to his mother Sarah (Olivia) to share his realisation that he’s bisexual, as she replies: ‘Oh baby. Thank you for telling me. I’m sorry if I ever made you feel that you couldn’t tell me that.’
In a tweet shared by Kit, 18, last month, he wrote: ‘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.’
In a new interview, Olivia, 48, said how ‘proud’ she feels of her on-screen son, who she described as a ‘very beautiful human being’.
‘I’m so proud of him, but I am not proud of how people bullied him,’ she told Variety at the premiere of her new drama Empire of Light in Los Angeles.
‘I think people should be allowed to have their own journey,’ she continued.
‘But I’m incredibly proud of him as a young man to deal with all of that and be in the spotlight. It’s unfair. But he’s amazing. He’s a very beautiful human being.’
Kit received a wave of support from his fans and co-stars after expressing how he felt ‘forced’ to come out, with Heartstopper showrunner Alice Oseman writing: ‘I truly don’t understand how people can watch Heartstopper and then gleefully spend their time speculating about sexualities and judging based on stereotypes.’
Olivia dubbed Kit ‘a very beautiful human being’ (Picture: Netflix/Rob Youngson)
Sebastian Croft, who played Ben in the series, replied: ‘Kit Connor, the world doesn’t deserve you. Love you my friend.’
‘You owe nothing to anyone. I’m so proud of you my friend,’ Joe added at the time.
During a recent appearance on a Critic’s Choice Award panel with Joe, Kit called out the lack of bisexual representation on screen, describing it as ‘shockingly low’.
‘The bisexual community is a community that has really a shockingly low representation, especially male bisexual characters,’ he said.
‘It is shocking because a huge amount of the LGBTQIA+ community is made up of bisexual people.
‘It’s a huge community but we really don’t get much representation.’
Heartstopper is available to watch on Netflix.
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‘I am not proud of how people bullied him,’ she said of her on-screen son.
