Kristen Stewart has reflected on her decision to come out publicly during her Saturday Night Live monologue in 2017, explaining that the moment was less about her personal relationships and more about confronting a culture of silence.
The Chronology of Water director discussed the decision in a teaser for her Feb. 2 interview on ABC News Live Prime with Linsey Davis, nearly nine years after she made headlines by telling then–President Donald Trump she was “so gay, dude” while hosting Saturday Night Live.
“It was less about sharing the details of my relationship,” Stewart said, “and more so acknowledging that there are people that don’t get full access to being alive because they’re hiding.”
Stewart, now 35, said she had repeatedly been told by people she trusted that being less open about her sexuality could benefit her career. She recalled conversations in which she was advised against publicly showing affection with a partner.
“I’ve experienced perspectives, I’ve had conversations with people I’ve known, loved and trusted and still do, who thought, ‘Your career would go better if you didn’t go outside holding your girlfriend’s hand,’” she said. “And I was like, ‘So you want me to live a partial life? And you want me to uphold, perpetuate and sustain a system that excludes people?’ And I just can’t do that.”
The actress added that she never felt she was hiding who she was, but believed addressing it directly could help others.
“None of my relationships have felt guarded because I didn’t want people to know me. I want people to know me,” Stewart said. “I felt like they did, so I didn’t really need to fill in the blanks. But at that point it felt like a statement that just might unlock other people’s doors.”
Stewart’s comments come as she marks her first year of marriage with screenwriter Dylan Meyer, who also collaborated with her on Chronology of Water. In a separate December interview with E! News, Stewart described their creative partnership, saying, “We have very, very different, very cohesive energies… I think that we’re kind of unstoppable.”
The 2017 SNL monologue remains one of the most talked-about moments of Stewart’s career, and she said the decision to speak openly was ultimately about rejecting the idea of living only part of her life — both personally and publicly.
Source: E! News