Nick Jonas refutes ‘gay-baiting’ claims
By Will Stroude
Nick Jonas might be playing two gay characters on US TV right now, but the Scream Queens star insists that sexuality has nothing to do with the role he decides to take.
The 23-year-old recently said he feels “honoured” to play gay frat boy Boone in Ryan Murphy’s new horror comedy series and closeted boxer Nate Kulina on gritty family drama Kingdom, and while he’s often accused of ‘gay-baiting’, in a new interview he’s insisted that his interest in gay roles comes solely down to the fact the characters have interesting stories to tell.
Speaking to USA Today, the Levels singer said his acting decisions are “not based on whether the character is gay or straight, but about what the story is and what the audience is going to get out of it.”
He went on to say that that Scream Queens creator Ryan Murphy, who has also produced shows LGBT-friendly shows like Glee and American Horror Story, was an expert at pushing those boundaries on screen.
“In the case of Scream Queens, there’s comedy within the role and I think at its core it really is a social commentary about stereotypes and breaking down some of those barriers,” Jonas continued. “Ryan Murphy obviously does that so well.”
He added that straight audiences also had a lot to glean from his onscreen appearance. Discussing Kingdom‘s sexually-repressed Nate Kulina, he said: “My character is going through a really different journey where he’s struggling with who he is.
“I think that’s a highly relatable story line that a lot of my fans, both gay and straight, have come and told me that that’s been incredibly important for them: to see the journey he’s on and to know they’re not alone, whatever it is that they’re going through in their life that makes them feel different or strange.
“There’s real peace and a community and a story being told that feels honest and grounded.”
Scream Queens airs in the US Tuesdays at 8pm ET on Fox, and will debut in the UK on E4 this autumn.
More stories:
In GIFs: Nick Jonas works out shirtless in Scream Queens
Happy birthday Nick Jonas! His hottest moments