Colton Haynes says that since coming out in 2016, it has not been easy for him to find work in Hollywood.
On the Behind The Velvet Rope podcast with David Yontef, he opened up about how his sexuality is still affecting his career six years later:
“I think that I’ve done the right thing by being so honest about my life," Haynes said. "Do I think my career would be a completely different career if I just would’ve not come out of the closet and just would’ve played the game and just like not given any actual factual information out and just lied to everybody? Yeah, because you see it all the time if a lot of people who are successful aren’t genuine…
… It is extremely hard navigating the industry as an out person, an out LGBTQ+ actor, no matter how hard the media loves to try to tell you that, you know, things are different now. They’re not. I mean, you have incredible movies at the box office that aren’t doing or getting the respect that they deserve. You have actors who aren’t being paid the same as everybody else, even though they’ve been a part of projects for 10 years.
… I played straight characters my whole career. Then I came out of the closet and now the opportunities aren’t there. And so I think that’s something that needs to change. But also I think we just have to start making our own things and we have to start writing our own things and trying to uplift our communities as much as we can and not be the people in the community who try to continue to tear it down as well,” he concluded.
Since the Arrow alum has come out, he has appeared on American Horror Story: Cult, Dollface, and the upcoming Teen Wolf movie (reprising his role from the hit MGV series). He also appeared in Lil Nas X's industry baby.
He's also set to star in the new Lifetime movie Swindler Seduction where he will play twins.
This is exactly why so many actors stay in the closet, out of fear that they will be denied certain roles. You would think since Hollywood pats itself on the back as being progressive in their way of thinking, but the record has consistently shown that Hollywood oftentimes is behind the times in regards to storytelling.
So the only way to make changes in Hollywood is for the queer entertainment community to start creating original content, instead of relying heavily on the mainstream media for 'acceptance.'
You can listen to the entire podcast here.
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