Abbot Elementary star, Tyler James Williams, took to Instagram on Sunday to address rumors about his sexuality. He said, definitively in his post that he ‘is not gay.’
He also said the culture of trying to figure out if someone is gay or practice of forcing people out of the closet gives queer people or queer questioning people ‘anxiety.’
Williams went on further to warn about gay stereotyping, saying that ‘Being straight doesn’t look one way. Being gay gay doesn’t look one way.’
The Abbot Elementary actor had previously been a victim of gay rumors and took the time in Pride Month to deny being gay and to affirm that he is an ally of LGBTQ community. He also wants the larger community to begin creating safe spaces for gay people.
Tyler is an actor who began his career as a child actor, making several appearances on Saturday Night Live, Little Bill, and Sesame Street. Williams later rose to prominence for playing the role of Chris Rock on the UPN/CW sitcom Everybody Hates Chris (2005–09). Following this, he starred as songwriter Cyrus DeBarge in the Disney Channel original movie Let It Shine (2012), and Noah on AMC horror television series The Walking Dead (2014–15)
He currently stars as Gregory Eddie on the ABC sitcom Abbott Elementary, for which he received critical acclaim as well as a Golden Globe Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award and a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series.
Additionally, Williams has also appeared in films such as Detroit (2017) and The United States vs. Billie Holiday (2021).
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