“Bridgerton” Actor Was Told To Stay In The Closet In Order To Succeed By An Unnamed Lesbian Director

You may know Golda Rosheuvel for her breakout role in Netflix’s hit show “Bridgerton”, but while was making strides to step out into fame, she was being advised to step back into the closet.

Last week as Rosheuvel appeared on  “Just for Variety,” the actor revealed that she was given a bit of career advice from an unsuspecting party. The actor has lived her life publicly as a proud gay woman, and yet, an unidentified lesbian director told her that if she wanted to succeed in Hollywood, she was better off keeping her sexual identity to herself.

“We were talking about being out and proud and representation and whether I should say I was gay in interviews, and it was an absolute no,” Rosheuvel said. “I would rather lose a job than not be true to who I am. I’d rather not work in an industry that doesn’t accept me. It just wasn’t how I was raised.”

The actor added that she was “really confused” by the director’s urging to keep quiet, especially as she’s been in a public relationship with playwright Shireen Mula for nearly a decade.

“My sexuality is really important to me, in terms of existing, in terms of being around the campfire and knowing that I’m important,” she said. “I’m as important as anyone on the planet.”

In addition to Rosheuvel’s portrayal of Queen Charlotte, she’s also known for the commendable work she’s done fighting for the rights of her fellow LGBTQIA+ community members. This past Saturday, the actor was awarded with the Equality Award at the 2022 Human Rights Campaign Gala in New York. According to the organization’s interim president, Joni Madison, Rosheuvel was recognized for embodying “the passion and dedication to advancing LGBTQ+ equality.”

During her acceptance speech, Rosheuvel once again referred to the conversation she’d once had with the unarmed director.

“I thought it was bad advice,” she told the audience. “Our stories need to be told so we can all be included in the landscape of storytelling and imagination. You are empowered when you see yourself represented.”

She additionally spoke to the diversity in representation displayed by the “Bridgerton” show. She stated that her being cast on the series “has brought me, a queer woman of color, into the living rooms of 83 million viewers and counting.”