Illinois actress Gillian Anderson is facing online mockery after recently coming out as pansexual.
PEOPLE reported that Anderson revealed in an interview with The Australian that she now identifies as pansexual. The 58-year-old actress also shared that she had previously been in relationships with women. “In my younger years I was in relationships with women,” she said.
Anderson also discussed how she currently feels about her life, saying that she is now at a point where “I feel like we can take on the world.” She added, “At this particular moment, there’s actually so much that’s good about it. So much agency, empowerment and comfortability with the self.” Although the actress shared more details about her personal life and past relationships, much of the online attention centered on her coming out as pansexual.
Pansexuality is a sexual orientation describing people who can experience romantic or sexual attraction to others regardless of their gender. A pansexual person may be attracted to men, women, nonbinary people, or people with other gender identities. However, being pansexual does not mean someone is attracted to everyone. Rather, it generally means that gender is not necessarily a determining factor in who they may be attracted to.
Following the revelation, some social media users mocked Anderson for identifying as pansexual, with some critics of the LGBTQ+ community making jokes about the term itself. Some posts attempted to connect “pansexual” with pans used for cooking, turning the name of the sexual orientation into a source of ridicule. The jokes appeared to focus on the word “pan” rather than Anderson’s explanation of her identity, while other users defended her right to describe herself in a way that feels accurate to her.
Viewers Mock Illinois Actress Gillian Anderson After Coming Out
The revelation from Illinois actress Gillian Anderson about identifying as pansexual was not welcomed by many people online. Numerous internet users began mocking Anderson and the term itself. “Hollywood ruins everything,” one person wrote. Another person said, “Who are we be the judge about people that like [expletive] pans. I’m more a of skillet man.”
Others were less critical of Anderson, with one person writing, “Pansexual is just bisexual with more steps. Okay. So you have an open mind and you are willing to date pretty much any human. Big deal.” However, several others continued to criticize her, with another person saying, “Why does all celebrities have to announce their sexuality? We don’t care!”
The new details shared by Gillian Anderson about her sexual orientation led to discussion about the growing number of celebrities who publicly discuss their identities. It also highlighted differing opinions among fans, with some preferring celebrities to keep their sexual orientation private rather than discussing it publicly.
