Yahoo News ‘Stranger Things’ and ‘Riverdale’ actress Shannon Purser comes out as bisexual
Shannon Purser, aka the actress who plays beloved Barb Holland on Netflix’s ‘Stranger Things’, has come out as bisexual on Twitter.
The 19-year-old star shared the news in a candid tweet on Tuesday, just days after she discussed the pressure attached to defining one’s sexuality.
Opening up to her 105K followers, she revealed: “I don’t normally do this, but I figure now is as good a time as any to get personal. I’ve only just recently come out as bisexual to my family and friends.
“It’s something I am still processing and trying to understand and I don’t like talking about it too much.”
— Shannon Purser (@shannonpurser) April 19, 2017
The announcement was seemingly prompted by a now-deleted tweet to her ‘Riverdale’ co-star Cole Sprouse, which sparked controversy among The CW show’s viewers who had shipped two female characters early on in the series.
“Don’t forget the angry beronica stans [sic],” she wrote, according to reports.
In response, upset fans accused the teen drama series of ‘queerbaiting’ and called out the kiss between characters Betty and Veronica (dubbed ‘Beronica’) in the first episode, criticising the show’s use of the same-sex storyline for ‘views’.
Addressing the backlash, Shannon continued: “I’m very very new to the LBGT community. I have never heard the term ‘queerbaiting’ in my life until today.
“That being said, I have never ever wanted to alienate anyone and my tweet was thoughtless. I wasn’t referring to all the beronica shippers, just the ones who had been particularly cruel to me personally.
“Either way, it wasn’t a wise or kind thing to say and I’m disappointed in myself, especially as a Christian who has always been taught to speak love to others.”
She concluded: “Thank you to all the people who kindly reached out to me and educated me about the reality your feelings about queerbaiting and I apologize to those who were hurt.”
Shoutout to this awesome star for being so open with her fans! <3
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