What exactly is queerbaiting? And why do so many celebs get accused of it?
Though by definition, the term "queerbaiting" refers to a marketing ploy that is used to lure queer audiences into consuming a form of media (like TV shows, books, and moves) by hinting at LGBTQ+ relationships and attraction but never explicitly showing it, the term has been used countless times in real life to describe what some celebrities do when they never publicly open up about their sexuality or identity but lean into what they think there queer fanbases want to see.
As a matter of fact, here are a few instances where celebrities have been accused of queerbaiting...
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Kit Connor
The young star of Netflix's popular queer, romantic series Heartstopperannounced he was quitting Twitter in September of 2022 shortly after accusations of queerbaiting started circulating online.
The queerbaiting accusations started when the 18-year-old actor, who says he prefers not to label his sexuality just yet, was publicly spotted holding hands with actress Maia Reficco. The two are currently filming an adaptation of the novel A Cuban Girl's Guide to Tea and Tomorrow by Laura Taylor Namey.
The following month, Connor returned to Twitter and publicly came out as bisexual, saying he was forced to out himself after all of the queerbaiting backlash and accusations.
Harry Styles
The Grammy-winning pop star, former One Direction member, and actor has been accused multiple times of queerbaiting throughout his career, particularly because he doesn't really publicly address or label his sexuality.
While he used to get so much online praise and accolades from fans for doing things like wearing a dress on the cover of Vogue to waving a rainbow flag during many of his concerts, more recently, Styles has been getting criticized more and is the subject of too many online think-pieces to count. One of those instances followed an August 2022 interview with Rolling Stone, where Styles made the claim that queer cinema is filled with raunchy, non-romantic gay sex scenes and that his role as a '50s gay cop in the upcoming drama film My Policeman is helping bring "tenderness" to gay love scenes in mainstream movies.
"So much of gay sex in film is two guys going at it, and it kind of removes the tenderness from it," he told Rolling Stone at the time. "There will be, I would imagine, some people who watch it who were very much alive during this time when it was illegal to be gay, and [director Michael Grandage] wanted to show that it's tender and loving and sensitive."
The backlash was rightfully swift online, with many pointing out that Styles doesn't know much about queer cinema (or culture) if he thinks gay sex scenes in critically-acclaimed films are all just explicit romps with no tenderness or affection involved at all.
Ariana Grande
The pop icon was accused of queerbaiting in April of 2019 shortly after she released a collaboration with her best friend, frequent song co-writer, and out, bi singer Victoria Monet entitled "Monopoly."
In the second verse of the track, Grande sings the line, "I like women and men/Work so fuckin' much, need a twinny twin twin." Though Monet sang the same lyrics in the first verse of the track, many online fans saw Grande's singing of those lyrics as queerbaiting, since at that point, she never publicly expressed interest in women. While many fans did express frustration with Grande, many others also came to her defense, saying she is free to express her sexuality as much or as little as she wants.
Billie Eilish
In June of 2021, the "Bad Guy" Grammy winner released the track "Lost Cause," an ode to a deadbeat ex. The music video for the track was also a sapphic dream, featuring Billie having the time of her life with a group of girlfriends at a slumber party in a big and beautiful mansion. While the video looked like a lot of fun, there were some sensual moments in the clip where Billie and friends are seen rolling around on top of each other in bed, and some critics of the video accused Eilish (who up to that point in her career had not really talked openly about her sexuality before) of queerbaiting.
Shortly after, Eilish posted some behind-the-scenes pics from the filming of the "Lost Cause" video, with the caption simply stating "I love girls," which many read as a subtle form of coming out. Later that year in an October interview with Elle, she more explicitly took on those queerbaiting accusations. She talked openly with the magazine about all the scrutiny she has faced over the years in her career from people on the internet, about everything ranging from her clothing choices to who she is or isn't dating. The topic of discussion then shifted to the pop star's sexuality, and Eilish had a few choice words to share.
"Or my sexuality!" she tells Elle. "Like, oh yeah, that's everyone else's business, right? No. Where's that energy with men?"
"I just wanted to make a song once, and then I kept making songs. I never said, 'Hey, pay attention to my life,'" Eilish continued to Elle, talking about being thrust in the public spotlight at a young age and having to deal with online critics of every little thing she does. "All my friends know I don't wanna see any of [the negative chatter]. When people send me something mean, it hurts my soul."
Cardi B
When an online stan account accused rapper bisexual Cardi B of queerbaiting in September of 2022, she took to Twitter to make an epic clap back and remind folks that she's part of the LGBTQ+ community, and not queerbaiting.
"I ate b*tches out before you was born," Cardi replied in her tweet to the queerbaiting accuser. "Sorry I don't have Razr phone pics to prove it to you."
But that wasn't her first time having to address rumors of queerbaiting. In 2018, she was on the song "Girls" with Rita Ora, Charlie XCX, and Bebe Rexha. The song garnered controversy when out musicians accused the song of queerbaiting, as none of the artists on the song were out at the time.
Rita Ora
Speaking of Rita Ora, the 31-year-old pop star had to reckon with queerbaiting accusations in 2018 after the release of her track "Girls," which featured Cardi B, Charli XCX, and Bebe Rexha.
After public backlash from listeners as well as LGBTQ+ musicians like Hayley Kiyoko and Kehlani, Ora took to Twitter to issue an apology for the "Girls" track and music video, which many saw as tone-deaf and found problematic in its portrayal of queer women and bisexuality.
"'Girls' was written to represent my truth and is an accurate account of a very real and honest experience in my life," Ora wrote in her apology, effectively coming out as having been with women in the past. "I have had romantic relationships with women and men throughout my life and this is my personal journey."
Olivia Rodrigo
The Grammy-winning "traitor" and "good 4 u" singer was once accused of queerbaiting by some online stans after her bestie Iris Apatow posted a pic on Instagram that showed the two of them getting close to each other. Fortunately, the post was literally just the two of them hugging and much ado about nothing, so other online fans came to Rodrigo's defense against these queerbaiting accusations.
Michele Morrone
In June of 2021, the Italian actor had to clear the air on social media after he was accused of queerbaiting for posting a sexy, shirtless, poolside selfie with his 365 Days franchise co-star and fellow actor Simone Susinna. He clarified that although he is straight, he is an ally to the LGBTQ+ community.
"I woke up with my team calling me saying, 'There's a lot of articles saying that you came out,' because of the picture I took with Simone," Morrone wrote in an Instagram Story post following the incident. "He became a very good friend of mine, we're like brothers. We're shooting a movie together. It was just a picture. Nothing more."
Speaking more about the caption of his post with Susinna (he originally wrote that he was a "liar") he continued: "An actor is a kind of liar. That's why I wrote that. Acting...as someone who is not. I didn't come out. So, I'm so sorry for the confusion. As I said, I'm a big supporter of the LGBT community."
