Shay Mitchell, who plays a lesbian on
ABC Family's mystery drama Pretty Little Liars, says she is
honored to represent the gay community.
The 23-year-old Canadian actress' role
of gay teenager Emily Fields is part of a growing number of such
characters on television shows, including Glee, 90210, Skins,
Gossip Girl, Hellcats, Greek and Showtime's
new entry Shameless.
During a Monday panel at the Television
Critics Association Winter Press Tour in Pasadena, California,
Mitchell talked about her role, saying she's received “very, very
positive feedback.”
“I am getting the most amazing
response from girls and guys all over the world, thanks to Twitter,
and it's been unbelievable,” she said, GregInHollywood.com
reported.
“If I can represent the gay community
in a small way, then I'm so honored and couldn't be more proud to do
that.”
Mitchell, whose character recently came
out to her father, added that she's now often asked about coming out
issues.
“And I'm like, 'I don't really know
if I'm in any position to tell you, but I'm just saying be true to
yourself.' And that's what my character is doing, and I'm all on
board with the decisions Emily, my character, has chosen on the show.
So I tell them the same thing, just to live as much of an authentic
life as you can,” she said.