After Kit Connor and his supposed girlfriend Maia Reficco were photographed together holding hands, the rumors of the alleged couple dating began to spread.
Having worked on hit projects separately, the duo are also the cast members of the movie A Cuban Girl’s Guide to Tea and Tomorrow. Their on-screen chemistry made fans wonder if they were really dating in real life.
Is Maia Reficco Kit Connor’s Girlfriend?
A month before the incident, Kit’s supposed girlfriend, Maia, shared a photo of herself alongside him on her Instagram, showing their middle fingers. It looked like from the time they were filming on the set together.
As the post was captioned xoxo with a heart emoji, many fans commented, asking if they were a couple and hoping that they were dating.
However, neither Maia nor Kit has confirmed whether the supposed pair were dating or not. But another facade started when the duo was videoed strolling around the streets of Paris hand in hand.
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Fans Accused Him of ‘Queerbaiting”
After the clip gained notoriety on social media, many fans accused the Heartstopper actor of ‘queerbaiting.’
As per dictionary.com, “Queerbaiting refers to the implications of non-heterosexual relationships (for instance in a TV show) for appealing LGBTQ audiences or otherwise allure interest without ever actually depicting such relationships or sexual interactions.”
If anyone hasn’t watched the show Heartstopper, then it’s about Nicki Nelson, a closeted rugby player. The show follows him (played by Kit) and Charlie Spring, the lead’s openly gay friend, played by Joe Locke, and their developing relationship.
Since the show got popular, many fans got eager to learn if the star was gay in actuality as well. So, when he was spotted holding hands with Maia, they started accusing him of ‘queerbaiting.’
Following such accusations, Kit revealed he would delete Twitter. Later, he tweeted that he was bi. In response, his alleged girlfriend, Maia, shared a grey heart emoji.
The tweet no longer exists since Kit has been off Twitter for quite some time now. Though there are plenty of fan accounts of the talented actor.
As of now, Kit hasn’t revealed if he is in a relationship with anyone. Furthermore, he usually posts about his work on his Instagram handle. At times he posts photos with his co-stars, not hinting at anything about his love life.
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Received Support from Many Post-Accusation
As stated earlier, Kit Connor was compelled to come out and reveal his sexual orientation after being accused of queerbaiting. Kit’s tweet, which no longer exists, read,
“Back for a minute. i’m bi. congrats for forcing an 18 year old to out himself. i think some of you missed the point of the show. bye.”
Kit even called out fans with their desperate attempts at labeling his sexuality for him.
Furthermore, Kit had no interest in designating his sexuality, at least not publically. According to him, he was confident and comfortable with it.
Nevertheless, many well-wishers were quick to comfort Kit with their tweets. One of the folks was Alice Oseman, the Heartstopper creator, who exclaimed Kit was amazing. She further hoped the culprits were embarrassed.
Besides people accusing him, the list of his well-wishers was also long, including the likes of Kizzy Edgell, his colleague from the show Heartstopper, journalist David Chipakupaku, writer Mark Harris, Labour MP Nadia Whittome, and Insider journalist Irene Anna.
Alongside them, there were also many fans of the actor supporting him and taking his stand.
Well, not just Connor, but many trolled his co-star Joe Locke too. He had posted a screenshot that showed his name followed by the words ‘gay’ and ‘ugly’ in the Twitter search bar.
In a recent interview with Vulture, Kit stated, “There’s something so exciting about hearing what people think,” adding, “and then you see one negative comment and think, Oh my God, the world’s ending.”
The actor further stated that whether they are straight roles or queer roles, he wants to do more interesting and challenging roles and is not anxious about being limited by the label of being a “queer actor.”
