Who among us didn’t crush on a Disney character as a kid? Be it a prince, a princess, or even a villain, plenty of animated characters served as our first ever heartthrobs — and celebrities like Kit Connor are no exception.
On the red carpet at the opening night of Romeo + Juliet on Broadway (in which the Heartstopper star plays the titular Romeo), Connor was asked by a twink and a redhead — sorry, by the twink and the redhead — about his dream date from the world of animation.
“Which animated character would you fall for in under a week? Like, you would give them the Romeo treatment?” asked the twink, aka Grant Gibbs.
After giving it some thought, Connor answered, “The prince in Mulan.” He’s referring, of course, to Li Shang, the Chinese general who teaches Mulan to “be a man.”
Culture, unfiltered
Twice a week, our newsletter will bring you the pulse of queer culture, from the tastemakers to the groundbreakers.
@romeojulietnyc Opening night presented by @A Twink and a Redhead ♬ original sound – Romeo + Juliet on Broadway
RelatedAnimators were told to make Riley “less gay” in ‘Inside Out 2,’ say inside sources.“Little comments like this, little acts like this, could heal an entire generation,” said influencer Jordan Straus in a viral TikTok.
Clearly, Connor has good taste: Li Shang is widely considered among the hottest of all the Disney men. But folks across the internet couldn’t help that Connor made the most stereotypically bisexual choice possible. In Mulan, Li Shang falls for Mulan first while she’s disguised as a man, then seems to fall for her all over again as a woman. It’s the closest Disney’s ever come to a canonically bisexual love interest, so Connor choosing him out of all animated characters only made sense.
him picking a bi character is so real
— rain ⛆ (@willykaplans) October 24, 2024
S-Tier answer, Shang is a babe pic.twitter.com/SCQXsRaz2l
— Leg Ryan (@uwu_shijima) October 24, 2024
Connor, meanwhile, has become somewhat synonymous with bisexuality himself, playing bi heartthrobs in Heartstopper and in Romeo + Juliet (yes, his Romeo is bi — Juliet herself, Rachel Zegler, recently confirmed it) and having come out as bi in 2022.
Romeo + Juliet plays at Broadway’s Circle in the Square Theatre through February 16, 2025. Read our review here.
Sign up for the INTO newsletter and get your twice-weekly dose of stories that shape the queer experience, culture, and lifestyle.