Nick Jonas covers the new issue of Complex, and it’s a surprisingly wide-ranging and interesting interview. I’m old, so I remember when the Jonas Brothers were a thing and when they pandered to the promise-ring churchy crowd, so it’s fascinating to see how Nick Jonas grew up to be the guy openly discussing his sex life in a magazine. Not only that, but Nick discusses the gay rumors and he manages to both shoot down the rumors respectfully and come across as a very tolerant/accepting LGBT ally. The headline most sites are going with is the bit about Kate Hudson, who Nick has been hooking up with on-and-off for months now. But I think the gay-rumor stuff is much more interesting. You can read the full piece here, and here are some highlights:
How he feels after his split from Olivia Culpo: “It was first excitement to have freedom to be whoever I wanted to be, be my own person. Then the feeling of being disheartened by what’s out there. Then getting into crazy artist mode and throwing it all out, the good, bad, and ugly. Then meeting people, making a real effort to open up and be free as a person. I’ve met some people that are amazing. And my current situation is that I’m very much single, but I’m trying to be as open to people who can inspire me in some way.”
Whether he’s having sex with Kate Hudson: “Umm. You know, it’s interesting. You’re allowed to ask me whatever the f–k you want and I’ll answer it, or not…Kate’s incredible. We had an unbelievable connection as two humans who just admire things about each other, and see something in each other that’s beautiful. Out of my best effort to respect her and her privacy, I’m not going to say if we had sex or not. But we did have a beautiful connection. Even now I have so much admiration and respect. She’s amazing.”
He’s used Tinder & social media to find dates: “Slide right in there sometimes, and then you’ll text the person and finally meet the person. It’s like online dating. Even that freaks me the f–k out. I’m like, should it be a group? Just the person? It’s scary.”
He identifies as straight, but he’s fine playing gay characters: “It’s funny. I play a gay character on a TV show. Whether it’s me or the character, at the end of the day it’s still my body, it’s still telling the story. It’s the character and his journey, but it’s my body, my lips, my hands.”
Whether he panders to gay audiences: “There’s always going to be negativity toward anything that is a positive effort toward change. As a heterosexual male, [I am] open and comfortable about loving my fan base, gay or straight, because to me there is no difference, it is my fan base. Your sexual preference does not matter to me and it shouldn’t matter to anybody. I thought [the criticism] was kind of dumb, considering I play this gay character on a gritty show. There’s a gay sex scene. I kissed a man.”
He’s into acceptance & being an LGBT ally: “The goal is acceptance on all levels. That should be the focus. I’ve gone to normal clubs, straight clubs, and I’ve gone to gay clubs, to party with my friends and fans. There’s no difference. I have nothing to prove. I’m very comfortable in my own skin and I’m thankful to have as many close gay friends as I have, people who have been so supportive in my life, and have always been there for me.”
I think he comes across really well here? I mean, there are always going to be people who swear up and down that he’s really secretly gay and his whole career is some kind of massive gay-bait (seriously, people say that), but I believe him in this interview, and at this point, if he was gay, he would just come out, wouldn’t he? Face it, people: he’s just a straight guy who is fine with hanging out in gay clubs. He loves and respects his gay fans and his goal is to be a supportive ally. Isn’t that what we should want from straight allies?
Complex also asked him about his “type” and he name-checked Emilia Clarke (oooooh, I wouldn’t mind that), Amy Schumer and Jennifer Lawrence. Apparently, he’s also a huge Shania Twain fan. Bless him.
Photos courtesy of Complex, WENN.
Damn it, Nick. You broke me. I like you.
I’m also a huge Shania Twain fan….. I see you Nick Jonas….. well played.
Decent kid this one. I never thought he was gay but he definitely knows who he is. If he was gay he would’ve come out already, & I actually believe that. I always thought his brother Joe was the gay one not him. I like Nick, his music is catchy & he was best part along with Diego Boneta in Scream queens.
…and that’s when I realized that I had fallen for a Jonas Brother.
If people believed the grape vine rumors then ALL the Jonas brothers are gay, as are all of 1 direction and basically every male pop star who started out as a teen. Apparently a pretty face on a boy means he must be gay.
I don’t find him the least bit attractive, but he did come across okay here. The part about Kate Hudson was unnecessary. Just say no comment and be done with it. He basically confirmed they had sex which is wrong towards her.
And I am bit tired of people who sing meaningless overproduced pop songs they probably didn’t wirte calling themselves artists and talking about their inspiration bla bla bla.
He handled those intrusive questions with an incredible amount of grace and charm given his age.
I love his overt acceptance of his gay following and when he mentions gay friends I believe him.
I give him an A+ for this interview.
I’m no prude, but why can’t otherwise articulate people conduct an interview without repeatedly dropping the f bomb?
I used to worry that I was cursing to the detriment of my vocabulary, but it turns out that cursing is correlated with better vocabularies.
http://www.sciencealert.com/people-who-curse-a-lot-have-better-vocabularies-than-those-who-don-t-study-finds
I’ve been a fan since the Disney days but I love the grown up Jonas Brothers. Its like they taken away the shackles on their image and grew up.
Anyways I believe Nick. I don’t find every boy bander (current or former) gay nor do I find going to gay clubs a sign of being gay either. If so my whole friend group (male and female) would be gay which is not the reality. He’s comfortable with his sexuality and it comes across that way. Well done Nick
“Umm…. I’m not going to say if we had sex or not. But we did have a beautiful connection. ” That’s the worst non-confirmation-confirmation he could have given, so obvious! lol
He handled the questions about the gay rumors very well. I hate the hipocrisy of asking people not to make a scandal out of your sexuality, while you make a scandal out of everyone else’s.
Probably just me, but heterosexual male is a red flag. Straight people, especially young ones don’t used that terminology. I’m straight, but philosphically bi. Funny but true.
I thought he came off well until the very end. His responses in the last paragraph confuse me. Is this show “gritty” because it’s about gay men? Did he seriously just equate “kissing a man” with a “gay sex scene?”
No. There was an actual gay scene, in which he also “French” kissed a man.
Who is Nick Jonas or the Jonas Brothers? I just “know” the Jonas Brothers from a line in a song by Jeffree Star and from him mentioning Nick Jonas a few times – but I don’t have a clue who they are…..