Fans were so proud of Lili Reinhart when she came out as bisexual back in June, as a way to urge people to get out and protest amid the Black Lives Matter movement. And now, the actress has clapped back at people who accused her of “faking” it “for attention,” and opened up about the moment she first realized that she liked men and women.
“I knew full well that I was attracted to women from a young age,” she told Fault Magazine. “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. 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.”
For those who missed it, the Riverdale star took to her Instagram Stories on June 3, 2020, to post information about a LGBTQ+ march in protest of George Floyd‘s tragic death, and in doing so, she opened up about her sexuality.
“Although I’ve never announced it publicly before, I am a proud bisexual woman,” she wrote at the time. “I will be joining this protest today. Come join.”
“It was incredible to be surrounded by so many people who are actively fighting against the injustices that are happening right now,” Lili explained to the outlet when asked about attending the protests. “Enough is enough and hopefully we’ll see real change from the actions that are now being taken.”
As fans know, many people took to the streets to protest George’s unjust passing. The 46-year-old, unarmed black man died in Minneapolis, MN, on May 25, after a police officer knelt on his neck for almost nine minutes. The white officer — Derek Chauvin — did not move even as George repeatedly said “I can’t breathe,” as heard in a video captured by bystanders. The officer has since been arrested and charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.
As for why she decided to speak out, the 23-year-old admitted, “I felt that I wasn’t doing enough. And I felt that it was lame to keep reposting what everyone else is posting so I asked myself: ‘Okay, what do I have to offer?’ I definitely learned a lot from the conversations I’ve been having. While it’s important to be an ally in this movement, Black voices cannot be muffled by other voices. This is their time to be heard. White people have to acknowledge their fucking privilege, which exists, and is very real. It’s important that we don’t just sit on our asses and let someone else fight this fight for us because it involves absolutely everyone.”
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