If Broadway darling Jonathan Groff is in his Leather Era, consider the gays fed.
The Tony-winning heartthrob recently stopped by The Tonight Show to promote his latest Broadway venture, Just in Time—a Bobby Darin jukebox musical that has him crooning, swinging, and, apparently, sashaying around in chaps. Yes, those chaps.
But before any Darin talk, Groff had Fallon—and the audience—howling over his now-iconic all-leather look worn to Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter tour. The outfit? A leather vest, a leather cowboy hat, and backless leather chaps. Or, as Groff lovingly dubbed them, “Baby’s first chaps.”
The moment Fallon pulled out the photo—Groff, glancing over his shoulder, ass clad only in black briefs, one hand rakishly tipping his hat—the crowd went full Broadway-in-tech-week feral. Fallon practically choked. “Explain what’s going on,” he begged. Groff obliged like a man who knows he’s a gay icon in the making. “Shout out to Valeria Yamin,” he said. “One of the incredible cast members of our show, who did this photo shoot with me on Derek McLane’s Tony-nominated set of Just in Time.”
Oh, and for the record—yes, Groff is gay. He came out publicly in 2009 and has since become a beloved figure in the queer community, not only for his career-defining roles (Glee, Looking, Hamilton) but for moments like this one: proudly strutting into a Beyoncé concert in full leather, cheeks out, joy dialed to eleven.
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And naturally, props were paid to the NYC queer gear mecca, The Leather Man. “They got me baby’s first chaps,” Groff grinned. Fallon, still processing, asked, “These are called ‘baby’s first chaps?’”
“I’m the baby,” Groff explained sweetly, “and those are my first chaps.”
Reader, the audience lost it.
Groff elaborated: “It was cowboy-themed, but I also wanted it to feel a little gay.”
Spoiler: it did. The outfit was approximately 80% leather, 20% cheek, and 100% flamingly iconic.
“Oh my god, it’s my new fetish,” he said earnestly. “I learned so much about myself once I got into those chaps!”
Not only did he attend Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter tour at MetLife Stadium with a crew so large they needed three vans (Lea Michele, Gracie Lawrence, and Lance Roberts among them), he also has plans to go again in July. “You have to go,” he urged Fallon. “Let’s go together!”
Whether Fallon will bring leather is unclear, but Groff is definitely ready for round two—with or without pants.
Groff’s love for Queen Bey isn’t new. He’s seen her Renaissance tour four times. He’s also described her as “the closest thing to religion that I have for myself.” And he’s not joking. Reflecting on meeting her backstage during Hamilton, Groff once recalled her saying:
“Were you the king?”
“Yeah.”
“You were f—ing incredible!”
She even promised to steal his King George walk—and performed it on the spot. “That’s when the ground opened up and I fell into my grave and died,” Groff said. “A tombstone went up and it said, ‘Cause of death: Beyoncé.’ That was just the end.”
So yes, Groff may be doing eight shows a week in Just in Time, but he’s also giving us Just in Leather, Just in Love, and Just in Formation. It’s the kind of joyful, queer energy Broadway—and the world—needs right now.
As for the chaps? They’re more than just a fashion choice. They’re a vibe. They’re a statement. They’re a rite of passage.
Or, as Groff so succinctly put it:
“I’m the baby, and those are my first chaps.”
We salute you, Jonathan. And your leather. And your new kink.
Source: Entertainment Weekly