Riverdale and Good Trouble star Tommy Martinez is opening up about a past gay experience.
Martinez plays a bisexual character on the young adult series Good Trouble, which is based off of the LGBTQ series The Fosters. Recently, Martinez spoke at a panel for the show about relating to his character and one same-sex experience from his past.
Yes, the 26-year-old actor says that he had an experience with another man when he was a teenager.
“I had an experience with a man maybe 10 years ago, and this is the first time that I’m saying that publicly,” Martinez shared.
“And throughout that whole time, I felt like I was put into the shadows because the way that my community was, the way that they spoke about [LGBTQ people], Hispanic community are very religious and strict. I[t’s the] same with many other people in the world and here in America.”
“The way that they talked about homosexuality or even just experiencing something like that with slurs or what have you, my friend said the same thing, so I had nobody to talk to.”
But, let’s not wave our rainbow flags for a male actor reminiscing about the one time he went gay just yet. Hopefully, we’ve all learned from the Aaron Carter situation.
In Martinez’s case, he doesn’t attempt, or allude, to come out. Instead, he simply shares a story from his past and how he uses it to understand his character more.
“With his sexuality, in the places I grew up in, it was something that was never talked about, nor was it ever challenged,” Martinez elaborated. “I know plenty of people from my high school that are gay but are still not out to this day and I know a buddy here in LA who still isn’t out.”
“I saw myself completely in Gael’s shoes,” he said. “And so when I got that audition notice and dove deeper into the character, I just felt right with it.”
If you want to watch the full panel, you can watch it below:
