Actress Kristen Stewart, who skyrocketed to fame over a decade ago with a starring role in the blockbuster “Twilight” franchise, said she had been advised to stay in the proverbial closet to “preserve” her career.
"I have fully been told, 'If you just like do yourself a favor, and don’t go out holding your girlfriend’s hand in public, you might get a Marvel movie,'" Stewart, 29, told Harper’s Bazaar in an interview published Monday.
Sarah Kate Ellis, president and CEO of the LGBTQ media advocacy group GLAAD, said Stewart’s “experience in the entertainment industry isn’t unique.”
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“For decades, LGBTQ actors have been told that in order to secure roles in Hollywood, they have to hide their authentic selves and stay closeted,” Ellis told NBC News in an email.
She added, however, that things are getting better for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer entertainers.
“While many actors in Hollywood still face bias in casting offices, this year’s Emmy nominees — including 'Pose,' Billy Porter, Laverne Cox, Hannah Gadsby, Ryan O’Connell and several others — give us hope that LGBTQ actors are not only becoming accepted, but also celebrated, by audiences everywhere.”
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The once publicity-shy Stewart, who dates women but reportedly identifies as neither a lesbian nor bisexual, is now open about her sexuality — and her dislike of labels.
"I just think we’re all kind of getting to a place where — I don’t know, evolution’s a weird thing — we’re all becoming incredibly ambiguous," she told Harper’s Bazaar. "And it’s this really gorgeous thing."
Stewart is set to star in the upcoming “Charlie’s Angels” reboot, which will hit theaters in November.
