Jonathan Bailey and Elton John discussed their own experiences with coming out in the public eye during a conversation that was part of the inaugural Elton John Impact Awards, which honored the Wicked star and other trailblazing LGBTQ+ community members and prominent allies.
During the discussion, John asked Bailey if he’s ever felt pressured to hide the fact that he was gay, or if he might have been scared to come out, or if he had enough confidence that it didn’t matter. Bailey replied that he had felt a combination of all three.
“I think there’s so much nuance to it,” he said, adding: “In a way, I feel innately that I knew myself at quite a young age actually, and the hardware is one of confidence. And then of course, you just take on these stories and these narratives that are sort of like cobwebs. And the closer I got, I found acting. And I think the reason why I loved acting is because for the first time, in a world where you have to sort of code switch and be hypervigilant about what you’re saying and how you come across, especially to your peers, if they’re gonna acknowledge something that you say or the way you say it as denoting of your sexuality. To then get given a script and to actually be able to lean into the right thing to do and to then be truthful in it felt really, really good.”
