Kristen Stewart reflects on speculation surrounding her sexuality

Kristen Stewart has reflected on the speculation that has surrounded her sexuality.

The 33-year-old actor spoke candidly about the public attention on her relationships during an interview with Variety, published on 11 January. During the conversation, she recalled how she made headlines when she publicly came out as gay in February 2017 on Saturday Night Live, while responding to how then-US President Donald Trump had previously urged her ex-boyfriend, Robert Pattinson, to break up with her.

Stewart specified that before her appearance on SNL, she worked on becoming more comfortable with the press covering her relationship with a woman at the time, rather than referring to her partner as a “gal pal”.

“It wasn’t even like I was hiding,” she explained. “I was so openly out with my girlfriend for years at that point. I’m like, ‘I’m a pretty knowable person.”

According to the actor, before she came out on TV, she experienced a range of questions about her sexuality. She specified how that curiosity affected her childhood, as she was still a young woman in the midst of trying to navigate her romantic relationships.

“For so long, I was like, ‘Why are you trying to skewer me? Why are you trying to ruin my life? I’m a kid, and I don’t really know myself well enough yet,’” she said. “The idea of people going, ‘I knew that you were a little queer kid forever.’ I’m like, ‘Oh, yeah? Well, you should honestly have seen me f*** my first boyfriend.’”

Stewart continued to discuss her monologue in 2017 on SNL, when she called out the former president and said: “Donald, if you didn’t like me then, you’re really probably not going to like me now, because I’m hosting SNL and I’m, like, so gay, dude.”

Speaking to Variety, the Happiest Season star reflected on the experience on the late-night show, adding: “It was cool to frame it in a funny context because it could say everything without having to sit down and do an interview.”

She also recited some of the questions that celebrities ask themselves before publicly coming out, sharing: “So what platform is that going to be on? And who’s going to make money on that? And who’s going to be the person that broke it?’ I broke it, alone.”

When Trump’s remarks about Stewart came out in 2012, it was after she was seen kissing Snow White and the Huntsman director Rupert Sanders while she was still dating Pattinson, which she later publicly apologised for. Following the incident, Stewart’s co-star from Panic Room, Jodie Foster, came to her defence by writing an op-ed for The Daily Beast.

“It was such a truly kind act,” Stewart told Variety about the op-ed. “I really needed Jodie to unpack that for other people before I could even understand.”

During the interview, she also specified how coming out has shaped her acting career, noting that she wants people to “like” her and “wants certain parts”. More specifically, she acknowledged how her sexuality has been incorporated into the characters she portrays.

“I have lots of different experiences that shape who I am that are very, very far from binary,” she said. “But I did get good at the heteronormative quality. I play that role well. It comes from a somewhat real place, it’s not fake. But it’s f***ed up that if I was gayer, it wouldn’t be the case.”

Stewart has continued to be open about romantic relationships, as she’s been engaged to her partner, Dylan Meyer, since 2021. During an interview with Andy Cohen in October 2023, she opened up about her future wedding plans, revealing that Guy Fieri could be officiating the nuptials.

“Oh, we have a lot of, like, similar fashion sense and hair,” Stewart joked about the Food Network regular, before adding: “Also, I think he just seems like a really nice dude, and he marries a lot of queer people.”

Stewart also noted that while it would be special to have Fieri at the altar, she and her soon-to-be wife weren’t necessarily set on having him there as the officiant.

“I think we’re probably just going to marry each other,” the Chanel muse confessed to Cohen. “And then call Guy and say: ‘You were here in spirit, babe.’”

Stewart and Meyer first met in 2013 on the set of a movie, years before they first sparked dating rumours. In 2019, they ran into each other at a mutual friend’s birthday party, before they went on to be photographed holding hands on their nights out.