Wentworth Miller spent part of his weekend explaining, in the most honest of manners, why he won’t do a sixth season of Prison Break.
The hunky actor took to his Instagram on Sunday, November 8, where he spoke about the trolling he’s received on social media as a result of him coming out as gay. He slammed those with “stone age” values for attacking him over his sexuality while also mentioning the amount of “affectionate” and “supportive” messages he’s received from fans.
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The negativity he had to deal with was enough to inspire Wentworth to tell queer stories as opposed to returning to his role of Michael Scofield on the popular FOX series.
“I’m not concerned for myself. I can’t be ‘bullied” in this space,'” he wrote in part. “I have too much power. ‘Delete. Block. Deactivate.’ Etc.”
“But I take seriously the possibility of queer kids visiting here, recently out of the closet or exploring the idea… I don’t want them exposed to b******t,” he continued before revealing the news that he’s done with Prison Break.
“On a related note… I’m out. Of PB. Officially,” he said. “Not bec(ause) of static on social media (although that has centered the issue). I just don’t want to play straight characters. Their stories have been told (and told). So. No more Michael.”
Wentworth followed that up with, “If you were a fan of the show, hoping for additional seasons… I understand this is disappointing. I’m sorry. If you’re hot and bothered bec(ause) you fell in love with a fictional straight man played by a real gay one… That’s your work.”
Dominic Purcell, who played Wentworth’s brother on Prison Break, showed him nothing but love for his decision. “It was fun mate. What a ride it was. Fully support and understand your reasoning. Glad you have made this decision for you health and your truth. Keep the posts coming. …. love ya brother.”
The 48-year-old first rose to prominence on Prison Break fifteen years ago before achieving similar success on other shows like The Flash and Legends of Tomorrow. He came out as gay in 2013 which was an emotional experience for him as the years leading up to that point were quite difficult.
Wentworth revealed that he attempted suicide in his teen years over his sexuality. “The first time I tried to kill myself I was 15,” he said at a Human Rights Campaign Gala. “I waited until my family went away for the weekend and I was alone in the house and I swallowed a bottle of pills. When someone asked me if that was a cry for help, I said no, because I told no one. You only cry for help if you believe there is help to cry for. And I didn’t. I wanted out.”
He also spoke about the pressures in Hollywood to keep his sexuality a secret particularly when he became internationally known on Prison Break.
“I did thousands of interviews. I had multiple opportunities to speak my truth, but I chose not to,” he said. “I was out to family and friends, to people I trusted, but professionally, publicly I was not,” he said. “I had to choose between out of integrity and out of the closet and I chose the former. I chose to lie. Because when I thought about the possibility of coming out, and how it would impact me and the career I had worked so hard for, I was filled with fear.”