Finding one's sexuality can be a long and obstacle-fueled journey. It's an exhausting and terrifying odyssey. Someone can be straight, but down the line, these people may find out that they are somehow interested in people of the same sex and vice versa.
Unfortunately, in Hollywood, sexual ambiguity can also be a fertile ground to promote an album, to support an upcoming film, to gain social media followers, or just for a publicity stunt. This is where the term queerbaiting comes from, a phrase that describes a desperate marketing attempt in the entertainment industry to appeal to an LGBTQ audience. Many A-list Hollywood stars have been accused of such, including Billie Eilish, Harry Styles, and more.
10 Billie Eilish
Earlier in June 2021, Billie Eilish released a brand-new music video for "Lost Cause" from her upcoming highly-anticipated sophomore album, Happier Than Ever. Up to this writing, the music video has gathered over 59 million views on YouTube and a queerbaiting controversy. She even added more fuel to the fire by posting a series of music video's behind the scene photos, captioning, "i love girls."
9 Rita Ora
In 2018, Rita Ora teamed up with Cardi B, Bebe Rexha, and Charli XCX for a music video of her single, "Girls." The song itself came under fire for being problematic in its portrayals of affection between women. Kehlani, an outspoken singer, even said that it contains "harmful lyrics."
"'Girls' was written to represent my truth and is an accurate account of a very real and honest experience in my life," the singer defended herself over the accusation. "I have had romantic relationships with women and men throughout my life and this is my personal journey."
8 Halsey
Before coming out publicly, singer Halsey was also accused of queerbaiting, claiming that being an ally to the LGBTQ community would help her sell her albums.
"I still see people on the internet saying, 'Of course Halsey says she's bisexual. It'll help her sell albums,'" she told Paper, detailing further about her troublesome past. "I never came out as a musician because I was already out when I started making music. I was in high school with people walking past me in the hallway calling me 'dyke.'"
7 Harry Styles
After departing One Direction, Harry Styles' career seems to be on a skyrocketing trend. He quickly adopted a more flamboyant persona: wearing pink suits, nail polish, high heel boots, and dangly earrings and broke his traditionally masculine fashion choice. He went as further as becoming the first male to cover Vogue magazine wearing a Gucci gown.
"Am I sprinkling in nuggets of sexual ambiguity to try and be more interesting? No," he defended himself over the accusation. "I want things to look a certain way. Not because it makes me look gay, or it makes me look straight, or it makes me look bisexual, but because I think it looks cool."
6 Madonna
Madonna has been an outspoken figure in fighting for LGBTQ rights in the US. However, before that, the iconic singer faced the same accusation after sharing an on-stage kiss with Britney Spears at the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards.
"I wouldn't have a career if it weren't for the gay community," says Madonna during an interview session with Ellen DeGeneres. "I feel like it would be incredibly remiss of me to not say something."
5 Bella Hadid
In 2019, Bella Hadid was featured in a marketing campaign by Calvin Klein. In the video, the straight supermodel can be seen kissing a robot called Miquela, which has its own Instagram page.
"As a company with a longstanding tradition of advocating for LGBTQ+ rights, it was certainly not our intention to misrepresent the LGBTQ+ community. We sincerely regret any offense we caused," the company's statement reads.
4 James Franco
James Franco has always been a traditional straight male, but he seemed to have some sort of obsession with gay people. He went as further as releasing a book titled Straight James/Gay James, playing a gay persona in several films like Milk and I Am Michael, and even ironically saying in an interview that he's gay "up to the point of intercourse."
3 Ariana Grande
In 2019, Ariana Grande teamed up with Victoria Monét for a single titled "Monopoly," which she proudly sings of liking "women and men." Several fans were furious as this wasn't the first time the "Sweetener" singer seemed to use bisexuality as a marketing ploy. In the same year, her music video of "Break Up With Your Girlfriend, I'm Bored," which she is seen hooking up with her on-screen love interest's girlfriend at the end of the video.
2 Tyler, The Creator
Controversies have been the backbone of Tyler, the Creator's career, especially during his earliest days of Odd Future when he did not hesitate to come with violent and over-the-top rhymes.
However, in 2017, his newest Flower Boy album features lyrics that suggest the rap star's finally coming out, "Next line will have ’em like, ‘Whoa’ / I’ve been kissing white boys since 2004."
1 Nick Jonas
In the past few years, Nick Jonas had been seen at gay nightclubs several times, although he "can't say" that if he's experimented with men. Now, he's been happily married to Priyanka Chopra since 2018.
"Everyone’s entitled to their own opinion. I think it’s unfortunate that some people have to find a negative in every situation. Clearly my heart is in the right place, and more than anything, if they just looked at my life and my gay friends and the authentic nature of where my heart is, they’d just see that they’re kind of ignorant," he told Pride Source in 2014.
