Lili Reinhart knew she was attracted to women a long time ago. While she’s been out to her friends for quite some time, there was a reason she decided not to come out publicly until two months ago.
She came out publicly as bisexual in June, but Lili Reinhart has been open about her sexuality with her closest friends for a long time. The Riverdale star, 23, opened up further about bisexuality in an August interview with Flaunt magazine, telling them that “I knew full well that I was attracted to women from a young age.” When she entered the spotlight as an actress, she declined to say that she was bisexual publicly, though, for fear of the reaction.
“I felt that since I’ve exclusively been in hetero-normative relationships, it would be too easy for any outsider, especially the media, to vilify me and accuse me of faking it to get attention,” Lili explained. “That’s not something I wanted to deal with. But to my close friends, and those in my life, my bisexuality has been no secret.”
Lili came out publicly as bisexual in a post to her Instagram Story on June 3, while letting her fans know she’d be joining the LGBTQ+ for Black Lives Matter Protest in West Hollywood. “Although I’ve never announced it publicly before, I am a proud bisexual woman,” she wrote. “And I will be joining this protest today. Come join.” She was, sure enough, spotted protesting in Los Angeles later that day, wearing a protective face mask and carrying a BLM sign.
Lili told Flaunt that it was joining the protest that inspired her to come out. “It was incredible to be surrounded by so many people who are actively fighting against the injustices that are happening right now,” she said. “Enough is enough and hopefully we’ll see real change from the actions that are now being taken.”