Out actor Colton Haynes has criticized
Hollywood for pigeonholing LGBT actors.
Haynes, who came
out last year and is engaged
to florist Jeff Leatham, made his comments on Twitter.
“Hollywood is so fucked up,” he
messaged to his nearly 2 million followers. “So much of the focus
is on your personal life & has nothing to do with the talent you
have to bring to the table.”
“So disappointed in how Hollywood
can't understand that playing a character has nothing to do with how
u live your personal life,” he added.
Haynes is best known for playing
Jackson Whittemore on MTV's Teen Wolf and Roy Harper on The
CW's Arrow. He plays Detective Samuels in FX's upcoming
American Horror Story: Cult. He thanked the creators of those
shows – all of whom are openly gay men – for not limiting the
roles of LGBT actors.
“Thank god for Ryan Murphy, Greg
Berlanti, & Jeff Davis. They believe gay actors are more than
just their personal lives,” he messaged.
Billy Eichner, who has worked with Ryan
Murphy, responded with “AMEN,” while Andy Mientus, who has worked
with Greg Berlanti, added “Be strong, brother.” Eichner and
Mientus are out.