Heartstopper fan bravely comes out as queer using emotional Nick Nelson scene from TV show
An avid Heartstopper fan used Nick’s coming out scene in the LGBT+ Netflix drama to open up to her parents about being queer. (Netflix)
A diehard Heartstopper fan has used a poignant scene from the beloved LGBT+ series to come out to her parents, and it’s honestly amazing.
The fan-favourite show, which has quickly become the talk of social media, follows the developing relationship between openly gay student Charlie Spring (Joe Locke) and his friend Nick Nelson (Kit Connor).
One of the more heartfelt moments in Heartstopper – let’s be real, there are too many to count – comes in the final episode when Nick nervously comes out as bisexual to his mum (Olivia Colman), who accepts her son and loves him for who he is.
It’s this beautiful and realistic moment that inspired one fan to come out as queer to their parents – by using the actual scene from the Netflix show.
Esme, a student who has a passion for films, tells PinkNews that she had been speaking to her friend about using the scene to break the ice with her parents about her sexuality, but was originally joking.
“I was saying like, ‘Oh, imagine if I did that – imagine if I came out to my parents using a scene from Heartstopper,’” they say. “Then when I watched Heartstopper – because I’d been a fan of the books for about a year – I was like, ‘OK, I want to do it.’”
She explains that she was initially “terrified” as she wrote a message out to her parents telling them to “watch this video” and “just sent the message”. Esme says it “felt like the right way to do it” because Heartstopper “means a lot to me”.
“It’s helped me so much,” Esme says. “I didn’t want to be like, ‘Oh, by the way, I’m queer.’ I wanted it to be like, ‘This is something that means a lot to me, and it’s helped me a lot.’”
In the scene, Nick anxiously tries to explain his relationship with Charlie before just blurting out that the other teen is his boyfriend. His mum quickly becomes emotional, embraces her child, tells him that she loves him and says she’s sorry if she “ever made you feel like you couldn’t tell me that”.
Nick says he’s bisexual in case his mum wasn’t aware of the term, and she jokes that she “wasn’t born in the 18th century”.
Like Nick, Esme says their parents were “really nice about it” and reassured them that they’re “still you to us”. They explain that their mum was “a bit confused at first” though she “got the spirit of it”.
Then, Esme decided to share the beautiful moment on Twitter, where she said her own heartfelt coming out moment was “seven years” in the making. She also thanked Heartstopper creator Alice Oseman for “creating a character that has helped me in ways I could never describe” as well as Connor for “being the most perfect” Nick by “encapsulating everything about him”.
“And thank you to the Heartstopper cast for constantly inspiring me and making me feel normal for being queer,” they wrote.
just came out as queer to my parents using nicks coming out scene in the show 🥲 feeling emotional rn … pic.twitter.com/LKwAEyEWEV
— 🧚 (@aftersuun) April 22, 2022
The IRL Heartstopper moment quickly went viral on Twitter, amassing more than tens of thousands of likes on the platform. Esme’s story even caught the attention of Connor, and he was moved that his character could help a fan share her truth with her family.
“This. This is why we did it,” the actor wrote.
https://twitter.com/kit_connor/status/1517562815523041280
He chatted a bit more about the incredible moment while on This Morning alongside Locke. Connor said seeing the tweet was the “most gratifying moment” in his career to date.
“For an 18-year-old to be able to have that effect on anyone’s life is unbelievable,” Connor added.
Esme tells PinkNews that they’ve had “really amazing” feedback on Twitter, saying they initially put their story on social media because they were “proud of myself”. They recall going to get their tea and returning to see Connor’s response as well as “loads of messages” on Twitter.
“I just burst into tears,and I was like, ‘Oh my God, what’s going on?’” Esme says.
She explains that she’s been a “fan of Kit’s since Rocketman” and followed him on social media because “he’s the same age as me” and seems cool. Esme says it was “really insane” to then see him in Heartstopper and eventually respond to her tweet.
Ultimately, Esme says they would like to thank Oseman for creating such an influential piece of work with such relatable characters and storylines that have a profound impact on young people.
“Being a queer person and seeing queer people be successful in that is nice,” Esme says.
She continues: “I think it is important and it’s going to be such an important show for years because there’s going to be so many young people – whether they’re queer, trans or figuring it out – watching the show and being like, ‘Wow, I relate to Nick’ or, ‘I relate to Elle’ or, ‘No, I see myself in Charlie with his mental health.’
“I think that’s a really beautiful thing to just show queer people existing in the same way that straight people have been shown to exist in media for so many years.”
