8 Big-Name Celebrities Who Were Accused of ‘Gay-Baiting’ the World

Bella Thorne

While a lot of people were super enthused when Bella came out as bisexual in August 2016, others found her big announcement to be a little disingenuous. The coming-out tweet came only after the Disney star posted a Snapchat video of her smooching another lady, which made her get bombarded with questions about her sexuality.

Since then, she's talked about having girl-crushes on other celebs like Demi Lovato and Miley Cyrus, and even flirted with some female stars over social media. HOWEVER, some claim she's using a false bisexuality claim to improve her fan base, pointing out that sometimes straight female friends do kiss on the mouth and it's NBD.

While we would NEVER want to accuse someone of lying about their sexuality, it's important to recognize that a portion of the gay community finds the publicity of her sexual orientation to be a marketing ploy.

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Tyler Posey

Speaking of Bella Thorne and her pursuit of straight guys since coming out, it appears her first bae after her sexuality reveal is an accused gay-baiter, as well! Not only did he say he makes out with his BFF/co-star Dylan O'Brien "all the time," but he also 'came out' on Snapchat last year, received a ton of media coverage for it and then backtracked, saying it was all just a joke.

But what some people see as the epitome of Ty's gay-baiting is his 2014 admission to making a Grindr account in order to make cool, gay friends. Like, that's not what the app is for. SMH.

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Shay Mitchell

This Pretty Little Liars girl plays a queer character on the show (which has also been accused of taking advantage of gay audiences for better ratings), but some wonder if her refusal to label her sexuality is just her effort to hold on to fans who love Emily Fields.

In an interview with Cosmopolitan, Shay revealed, "I could be 50 and dating a woman and then what? I said I was straight and now I'm not?" While she hasn't said she's specifically attracted to women at this point, nor has she ever publicly dated one, she always leaves a big question mark.

While many of us can relate to being somewhat on a 'queer spectrum,' some found the actress' words to be a way of appealing to fans rather than ones from the heart.

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Nick Jonas

Nick J has kind of found himself as the poster child for gay-baiting in Hollywood. He's been known to pose semi-nude for queer publications and party at Manhattan's gay clubs, but found himself in some hot water after speaking at a vigil for the Orlando nightclub shooting victims. This action was particularly called into question because he'd recently dropped an album, making people think he was representing himself as an "ally" so that the LGBTQ+ community would buy it.

There was also an uproar concerning his answer to a reporter asking if he'd ever had gay sex. He told The Sun, "On Kingdom I have a sex scene with a guy. It's my lips, it's my hands, it's my body, even if I'm playing a character. So technically I have done that, so I wouldn't say I haven't, because that would be lying." Interesting.

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Katy Perry

Remember when Katy came out with the song "I Kissed a Girl" and it made her famous? The tune basically perpetuates an idea that making out with other girls is *sexy* to a male audience. Some even branded the singer as a fraud who was exploiting the lesbian experience. While certain listeners immediately saw the offensive hidden message in her first hit, others found it to be a pride anthem and the pop star was even (controversially) featured on the cover of Out magazine.

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One Direction

While all the 1D guys have had their sexuality called into question at one point or another, it's their "homoerotic" interactions that have queer advocates saying they're using the speculation around their sexuality as a sales tactic. They grope and mock-kiss each other in interviews and are super touchy when the cameras are rolling. Harry's even stated that being "female" is "not that important" when it comes to looking for a mate.

While the jury is still out on Hazza's sexuality (gay rumors continue to circulate), the actions of the group as a whole have queer fans wondering if it's all just a tactic for attention.

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Lady Gaga

Lady Gaga has always positioned herself as a champion for the queer community and tried to be the go-to celebrity when it comes to speaking out against injustice. Like Bella Thorne, Gaga, too, has come out as bisexual and she's even admitted to having sex with women. However, every single public relationship she's been is has been with a man, which begs the question: how can she be seen as the voice of and defender for same-sex relationships when she's never publicly been in one?

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James Franco

James has been accused of queerbaiting because his words and actions would suggest he's part of the LGBT community — except, you know, he doesn't hook up with people of the same sex. He's posted shirtless selfies in bed with PLL's Keegan Allen and often publicly plays with the idea of a homoerotic 'bromance'.

In certain interviews, he even teased the idea that he is actually gay, except again, minus the hookups. He told Entertainment Weekly, "You know what, maybe I'm just gay," then told People, "Yeah, I'm a little gay, and there's a gay James." Fans were quick to point out that he almost seemed to be leaving breadcrumbs for his LGBT audience, giving just enough that they keep following his every move.

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