Glee's Chris Colfer Was Told That Coming Out As Gay Would "Ruin" His Career

5 June 2024, 16:31 | Updated: 15 August 2024, 16:45

By Sam Prance

"If I'm an openly gay actor, I may never win a major award, I may never get to play a superhero, but I think being a beacon of positivity and providing that comfort for people is way more important than attention."

Glee star Chris Colfer has revealed that he was advised to stay in the closet when he was playing Kurt on the hit teen drama.

It's impossible to imagine Glee without Chris Colfer. The TV landscape has changed a lot now but, at the time, there was still very little LGBTQ+ representation on TV and Kurt helped pave the way for many of the queer stories we see in media today.

When Glee debuted in May 2009, Chris hadn't spoken about his sexuality publicly. However, midway through season 1, he came out as gay in an interview with Chelsea Handler and went on to work closely with multiple LGBTQ+ charities.

Now, Chris has opened up about coming out and said that he was told that it would "ruin his career" when he was on Glee.

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Appearing on The View, Chris said: "I grew up in a very conservative town where being openly gay was dangerous. When I read [Glee's] script for the first time is when I saw it was an openly gay character and I was terrified. When I started filming the show, I had a lot of people tell me, 'Do not come out whatever you do because it will ruin your career'."

Chris then explained that he initially listened to the people around him. He added: "And so I hid for a little bit but I also told them, ‘I can’t hide it, with my voice - I’m more effeminate than most people, I can’t hide it.’ And they said, ‘Don’t worry. As long as you never address it, you’ll be rewarded for it in the end.’"

However, a fan of Glee completely changed his mind. Chris revealed that the cast went on a post-signing tour and a little boy secretly gave him an envelope when his parents weren't looking: "I opened it up and there was a little note that said ‘Thank you.’ And there was a little paper clip chain that was the colors of the rainbow."

Chris said: "In that moment, I knew I had to come out. That’s more important."

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In terms of how coming out could have affected his TV career, Chris said: "At the time, I was thinking, 'If I'm an openly gay actor, I may never win a major award, I may never get to play a superhero, but I think being a beacon of positivity and providing that comfort for people is way more important than attention."

People have since praised Chris for his bravery on X/Twitter. In a viral post, one fan wrote: "when i say chris colfer was the right person at the right time to make history, this is exactly what i mean. he prioritized representation over reputation and the world is a safer, more inclusive space now because of that."

Another wrote: "yall hate to say that glee had cultural impact but little chris colfer really changed tv eh."

Since Glee, Chris has gone on to become a best-selling children's author, and his latest book Roswell Johnson Saves the World is out now.

Read more Glee news here:

• Matthew Morrison says he wasn't allowed to leave Glee after Cory Monteith died
• Ryan Murphy admits Glee should have ended after Cory Monteith’s death
• Kevin McHale says he wouldn’t play Artie again in a Glee reboot
• Glee cast reunite for new Naya Rivera song three years after her death
• Ryan Murphy is considering bringing back Glee with a reboot

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