Jonathan Bailey, the Bridgerton actor and People’s 2025 Sexiest Man Alive, has found himself at the center of a polarizing online debate—one that spotlights the lingering inability of many to comprehend openly gay male celebrities in lead romantic roles.
Following a viral video feature that showed Bailey getting close to Wicked co-star Ariana Grande, some social media users, several appearing to be fans of the 37-year-old actor, began speculating about Bailey’s sexual identity. A wave of public backlash quickly erupted, defending the star and denouncing the comments as outdated, unnecessary and even homophobic.
Bailey, who is openly gay, has long been candid about his experiences navigating both his rising fame and his sexuality in the entertainment industry. But a spate of social media posts in recent days—many questioning whether Bailey is “really” gay or suggesting he might be bisexual—has prompted a widespread and critical response from his fans and advocates, who say this type of speculation is not only unfounded, but regressive too.
“No one can name your sexuality, but you,” Anne-Marie Zanzal, a coach who helps people navigate coming out, told Newsweek. “It is extremely rude and disrespectful to do this to anyone.”
Most of the comments emerged after Bailey appeared in a promotional video alongside Grande. In the clip, the two embrace affectionately, fueling baseless claims that Bailey’s closeness with his co-star somehow casts doubt on his identity as a gay man.
The remarks reflect a stubborn double standard, in which attractive and confident gay men in the spotlight are questioned over traits that would not draw comment from their heterosexual peers.
Bailey’s supporters were quick to push back.
“Really?!? Not believing Jonathan Bailey is gay is straight up homophobia,” X user, @eattherich73, shared in a message that has garnered more than 12,000 views. “He actively talks about being a gay man and the homophobia he’s faced. He’s also called you a****** out on questioning his sexuality. Y’all are gross.”
Another X user, @Foxx_nd_Inkwell, was more direct: “Jonathan Bailey is an openly gay man. Wanting a gay man to ‘change himself’ to romantically and sexually be with a woman instead is profoundly homophobic.”
That comment was in response to a user who had posted: “He might be gay, but still. I believe he might be bisexual…”
Several social media users suggested that the core of the controversy lies in an enduring inability in many to accept that a gay man can also be desirable, stereotypically masculine and play the romantic lead.
Bailey, who rose to international fame in Netflix’s Bridgerton and recently starred in the wildly popular Wicked franchise, embodies a figure that was not so many years ago considered implausible in mainstream media—a gay heartthrob. His popularity has soared not in spite of his identity, but alongside it.
Yet not all corners of the internet have caught up. The language surrounding Bailey echoes sentiments from the 1990s and early 2000s, when public revelations of a celebrity’s homosexuality often triggered exaggerated lamentations from straight female fans. When stars like George Michael were revealed to be gay, the public discourse often veered into expressions of disappointment or disbelief, rather than acceptance.
In Bailey’s case, the reaction has taken a more modern—but no less invasive—form: parasocial speculation disguised as curiosity.
Many fans build strong emotional connections to celebrities especially now, thanks to social media, interpreting off-screen interactions or perceived chemistry as insights into their personal lives. While not new, these behaviors can take on a problematic edge when they cross into questioning someone’s sexual orientation.
“Jonathan Bailey is a gay man he is not bisexual, he is not into woman and just doesn’t know it yet, you cannot turn him straight, and all the above are extremely homophobic comments whether they are jokes or not,” one X user wrote on on November 26.
Bailey, from Oxfordshire, England, publicly came out as gay in 2018. His friends and family had known long before that. Newsweek reached out to his representatives for comment via email.
