We’re not crying…you’re crying.
Mean Girls heartthrob Jonathan Bennett recently opened up about his coming out experience in light of World Theater Day.
Taking to Instagram, Bennet shared three videos of his teenage self alongside a lengthy caption.
“Emotional post warning – To celebrate #worldtheaterday I give you a video of a 16-year-old gay boy in Ohio. He has a pitchy voice, no rhythm, and can’t dance to save his life,” he wrote.
“He’s awkward, his teeth are too big for his face, and he lives in fear every single day because he doesn’t fit in with the rest of the boys in his class.
“He constantly gets pushed into a locker by an asshole named Justin and when he walks down the halls he gets called a faggot. He cries himself to sleep every night and develops stomach ulcers because of the stress and the homophobia in his small town.”
In the post, Bennett also describes how he found solace in his high school’s theater group and the feelings he felt along the way.
He went on to open up about feeling safe, seen, celebrated and “ALIVE” while participating in theater productions.
Closing out his emotive post, Bennett thanked theater professionals for their hard work and sent an inspirational message for people struggling with their identity.
“So to celebrate today, grown-up Jonathan wants to say thank you to every single person who has ever had anything to do with any theatre anywhere at any time,” he said.
“To anyone reading this that identifies with my story, know that you are not alone and that you are a star and you deserve to shine bright.
“And never stop singing and dancing, no matter how good you are because it’s not about being perfect, it’s about shining your light. And the world NEEDS your light.”
Bennett made headlines in 2017 when came out as gay and revealed that he was in a relationship with Jaymes Vaughan, who is now his fiancé.
Back in 2019, his Mean Girls co-star Daniel Franzese revealed that he and Bennett came out to each other as gay during filming.
Franzese – who played Damian in the iconic comedy – was asked by Gay Star News if he and Bennett had an “open dialogue” while on set, to which he responded: “We both were sharing in our little private misery of having to be in the closet. We definitely confided in each other.”
You are loved and appreciated Jonathan Bennett.
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