Darren Criss has opened up about being "culturally queer" in an interesting conversation at an entertainment convention.
Criss, best known for playing Blaine Anderson for five seasons in the comedy-drama TV series Glee, got candid with defining his sexuality.
Speaking during the 2024 Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo about playing a gay man on Glee, he said: "I have been so culturally queer my whole life."
For those of you that might not be aware, being "culturally queer" refers to the performance of queerness as an identity or aesthetic without necessarily being queer.
“Not because I’m trying - you know, actually, I was gonna say not because I’m trying to be cool but I’m gonna erase that, because I am trying to be cool," he continued. "The things in my life that I have tried to emulate, learn from, and be inspired by are 100 percent queer as f***.”
He also stated that it was in the LGBTQ+ community that he found his inspirations.
"It was in queer communities that I've found people that I idolize, that I want to learn something from, and I'd say that's a gross generalization, that's a lot of things and a lot of people," he said before adding: "But I grew up in San Francisco in the '90s. I watched men die. There was an awareness of the gay experience that was not a foreign concept to me."
"So, it was a narrative that I cared deeply about," he concluded.
His remarks, however, have seem to have divided fans online.
“All he had to say was that he is an ally! He doesn’t have to appropriate us,” wrote one person. “As a heterosexual man, he will always be able to live his best life with a female partner anywhere in this world, free from persecution or execution.”
"He’s just saying this so he can get more roles playing gay men and not suffer cultural backlash. It seems like he has made his career on those roles. Consider it employment insurance," another added.
And this user also agreed, writing: "Darren Criss now identifies as culturally queer. Like what does that even mean...and where do we draw the line???"
However, not everyone was hating, with this user stating: "You’re all joking but he quite literally IS culturally queer like... it’s Darren Criss."
And this user pointed out: "In defense of darren criss, there actually are a lot of gay men who are not culturally queer."
Since his stint in Glee, he has gone on to portray many other gay characters such as Andrew Cunanan in American Crime Story: The Assassination of Gianni Versace and the titular role of Hedwig in the Broadway musical Hedwig and the Angry Inch.
In 2018, Criss told Bustle he would not be playing any more LGBTQ+ roles because he didn't want to take any opportunities away from actors who actually identify as gay.
“There are certain [queer] roles that I’ll see that are just wonderful,” he told the outlet. “But I want to make sure I won’t be another straight boy taking a gay man’s role.”
Although playing those roles has “been a real joy,” Criss said he didn't feel comfortable doing it anymore, which he says is “unfortunate.”
“The reason I say that is because getting to play those characters is inherently a wonderful dramatic experience,” he said. “It has made for very, very compelling and interesting people.”
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