Last night on twitter the live streaming video platform YouNow, actress Bex Taylor-Klaus shone a little light into the darkness of post-apocalypse America with the following announcement:
hello my name is bex and yes the rumors are true I am v gay
Live on YouNow in 10 minutes
— bex, but at home (@IBexWeBex) November 17, 2016
Bex Taylor-Klaus was born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia, and began acting in elementary school, and at the age of 18 moved to Los Angeles to pursue her acting career. Her first major role was on the third season of The Killing in 2013, in which she played Bullet, a butch lesbian teenage runaway who eventually met exactly the fate you would predict for such a character.
She then played genderqueer basketball player “Lex,” a name which definitively sounds like “Bex,” for six episodes of House of Lies.
“House of Lies”
Voice work and guest roles here and there (including a spot “Goth Girl” in the pentultimate episode of Glee) eventually led to what she’s now best known for, which is her starring role as bisexual teenager Audrey Jensen on the MTV show Scream.
Throughout it all, Bex has been a bit of a lesbian hearththrob, for reasons that should be readily apparent.
On YouNow, she took questions from a series of fans, many of whom wore adorable animal onesies and were so stunned to be selected by Bex that their questions mainly consisted of, “I love you” and “Oh my god.” Y’all it was really fucking cute.
Bex talked about coming out, about always feeling “wrong” when she tried to be straight, and compassionately handled the broadcast through a variety of internet connections and teenagers attempting to ask her questions from teenagers hiding in their bedrooms trying not to wake up their parents. One fan asked if she was scared to come out right now, considering recent events, to which Bex responded:
“Terrified, absolutely terrified. Part of why I’m coing out is because there’s so much hate and fear in and around the LGBT community right now and it’s important for us not to halt progress out of fear. Yes, it’s a scary time, but we need to stand up and say, even if you are afraid, I’m not afraid, or even if I am afraid, I’m strong. I am who I am and you can’t take that away from me.”
Due to a combination of gaydar and wishful thinking, fans have wondered about Taylor-Klaus’s sexuality for a long time. Back in 2013, she addressed fan questions on her facebook page, assuring them that “I am a straight girl who plays a gay character on TV. No, I am not ashamed.” According to The Inquistr, the remainder of the post read:
“The point of Bullet is not that she is gay. There is so much to her and I look up to the strength and determination this girl has. I get the beautiful opportunity to play a character I can admire and learn from on a daily basis. Bullet knows who she is and can accept herself for it all, even if others can’t or won’t. Not everybody is that strong. My biggest worry is that people will look at her and just see a gay kid, when that’s truly only a tiny piece of Bullet’s puzzle. Look at the big picture. People are a medley of different things and that is what makes us so interesting. Don’t lose sight of the beauty just because you see one thing you may find ugly.”
Although acceptance is absolutely abundant in Hollywood at this point, “making it” is still incredibly difficult for any actress, and it’s understandable that Bex would be hesitant to come out, especially when she was already being consistently typecast and had a more “nichey” physical appearance. (See also: Kate Moennig.)
143 weeks ago (this is a very useful way to measure time, thank you Instagram), Bex told fans on her instagram page that they would “never know” if she was gay or straight, which just goes to show you that life is full of surprises!
Bex, who voted for Hillary and has expressed disappointment on social media about the election of human Cheeto Donald Trump and regularly posts about Black Lives Matter issues, is doing a cool thing to come out when so many LGBTQ folks nationwide are considering crawling back in to save themselves.
THANKS FOR COMING OUT BEX, I LOOK FORWARD TO ADDING YOU TO ALL OF OUR HOT LISTS.
Also, she’s friends with Barb.
YAY I LOVE HER. She’s just as brave as that character Bullet, after all.
What is it with celevrities and magazines using the term genderfluid to mean “dresses androgynously”
my complicated feelings on this as an actual genderqueer person: “genderfluid” is definitely not the same as “dresses androgynous,” and LA People does seem to be conflating Bex the person w/ Bex’s characters, but also sometimes people ID as both gay and genderfluid? maybe bex did hint at being some kind of gender fluid to LA people?
FRIENDS WITH BARB
WAY TO BURY THE LEDE, RIESE
Two weeks ago every celebrity who came out, it was like a happy comfortable joyous thing. Now it’s “terrifying.” God damnit.
Aw! Presh! I loved Bullet, but also I never want to think of her/her fate ever again.
That’s great! I’m so happy for her and loved her work on The Killing, House of Lies, and now Scream. Also SHE IS FRIENDS WITH BARB WHAT??
Welcome to the club Bex
Get your voucher to redeem for a toaster oven
Refrences like that are great golden oldies.
Golden like the delicious toast.
I miss toast so much.
Sooo I’ve definitely had a crush on Bex since “The Killing,” ergo I watched the entire livestream last night (about 3 hours, bless her heart) and casually went to bed at like 3:30 a.m., which part of me is really regretting today but part of me really isn’t.
Bex managed to turn her coming out into a platform for other people to talk about their experiences and fears, ask questions and just generally discuss queer issues, and was so consistently patient and personable with teens who were literally (and adorably) shaking and crying over being able to speak with her “face to face.” She also looked really really happy (that SMILE) to finally be sharing her truth with the world.
After the Pulse shooting, Bex convinced MTV to let her do an impromptu livestream (along with some of her “Scream” co-stars, but she did most of the talking and was the impetus behind the stream happening) to basically talk about what happened and gather people together and help everyone process. She was an awesome and empathetic ally before she was publicly out, so I’m really excited for her :)
(Also, small correction: Her “Scream” character Audrey identifies as bi-curious, not bisexual.)
(ALSO, TEGAN AND SARA TWEETED TO CONGRATULATE HER ON COMING OUT.)
I’m not saying that we should write Audrey/Barb fanfic but…
I would have sworn she had come out earlier than that, but eh. I’ve been a fan of hers for years- earliest memory is seeing her in the Librarians for an episode and recognizing her from some other small part she did on a show I’ve also forgotten. Been following ever since. She does get typecast constantly though :/
Bex, if you’re reading this: well done, congrats, thanks for being brave and a role model as well as an entertaining actress, you should definitely come to a-camp.
Not to sound like a jerk, but what would someone predict the fate would be for a butch lesbian teenage runaway? I never saw the show so I don’t know what actually happened. My prediction would be that she finds a beautiful lesbian and they fall in love. That her girlfriend’s parents take in the runaway and give her a solid, healthy family. They get married, move to Washington State, drink lots of coffee, and have a loft with 2.5 adorable dogs. The end.
Too naive?
Just hold that beautifully fluffy imagery in your head and let not the reality of the show’s storyline sully it!
Oh you’re not a jerk cher just there’s a trend in TV of making queer ladies suffer and die.
And a homeless runaway gay kid in a scripted American TV crime drama is prime tragedy/suffering porn material.
There’s nothing naive about wanting or hoping for something better.
I shall henceforth refer to President-elect Donald John Trump as ‘human Cheeto’, and there is nothing he or anyone else can do about it.
Thank you, Riese.
You can also use “Screaming Carrot Demon”.
Also, petition to get them their own TV-show called ‘Bex & Barb: PLEASE DON’T KILL US OFF THIS TIME’.
I actually didn’t think something could put a smile on my face after that election.
Also, I love Bex. When I couldn’t get anymore Bullet from The Killing, and was scouring the internet for more info on Bex, I was so sad to learn that Bex was straight. I’m so happy right now!
So happy for her, been a big fan for a while and obviously thought she was gay but then saw all her comments about being straight etc, I’m glad she had to courage to come out and be true to herself and will be happier not having to hide it. If only they would give Scream more episodes next season :'( Such a great show.
Would it piss on her moment if I were to ask at what point was I supposed to not know she was queer?
I love Bex so much but I have mixed feelings bc she’s so cute and seems really nice but also she looks uncannily like my ex that emotionally wrecked me, so
Praise lesbian jesus, it’s nice to have some good news!
Congrats, Bex!
Did she “scream” it from the rooftop…see what I did there?
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