Lukas Gage recalls 'witch hunt' that pressured him & Kit Connor to come out

Gage then reflected on the debate over straight actors playing queer characters, most recently seen with Daniel Craig's starring role in Luca Guadagnino's Queer.

"It's two-fold. I'm in the camp where there's of course certain scenarios. It's an injustice to not cast with diversity and inclusion, to tell the most authentic story," Gage reflected. "In other less specific cases, it's important to remember it is acting, and we should be free to play as many different kinds of roles as possible. There has to be grace and generosity. I don't like it when people do a witch hunt for people for doing it."

"Witch hunt" came off as Gage describing his own experiences, but the actor also compared it to Heartstopper star Kit Connor. After the show became a smash hit for Netflix and Connor became an overnight sensation, fans started pressuring him to share his sexuality — going through great lengths of investigating and speculating about his private relationships.

Things became so intense that, when Connor finally came out as bisexual, he sarcastically congratulated fans for "forcing an 18-year-old to out himself."

Gage concluded in this Attitude cover story:

"Feeling bullied into coming out at 18 years old? That area where public and private intersect is so confusing to me. I want to have visibility, to be a role model. I want little kids to see me and think, 'He's doing it; I could do it too.' But it's also the thing Tina Fey said, 'Authenticity is expensive.'"

Smile 2 is now streaming on Paramount+.