5 Celebs Who Clapped Back At Demands They Label Their Sexuality

As much as being famous has its perks, it also comes with quite a few downsides. But of all the hassles that come with being a celebrity, loss of privacy and constant assumption by fans, media, and critics have to be the worst. Especially when it comes to sexuality.

The general obsession with celebrities' sexuality is nothing new, but has gotten worse thanks to social media. We also seem to have reached a point where the media feels comfortable going beyond just assuming, actually trying to out famous people. A perfect example of this was when the New York Times allowed their opinion editor, Anna Marks, to write a piece entitled, "Look What We Made Taylor Swift Do," in which Marks claimed Swift is queer. The essay was almost 5000 words long, detailing all the "facts" that point to Swift's alleged queerness. The backlash to the piece was fast and fierce, deservedly so, because, for starters, why does Marks think it's her place to out Swift if she were queer? Also, 5000 words? Really? Although someone close to Swift gave CNN a statement, pointing out how "invasive, untrue, and inappropriate" the piece was, Swift herself never commented — nor should she have to.

While Swift stayed mum, other celebrities have refused to stay silent when their sexuality has come up. Some have even clapped back when they've been pressured to define their sexuality, and good for them. One's sexuality is their business and no one owes anyone a label.

If you look at the dating history of model and actress Cara Delevingne, you'll find quite an eclectic group of people. From Halsey to Harry Styles to St. Vincent, not only does Delevingne clearly have great taste, but she dates people for who they are — not their gender.

In a 2017 interview with friend and fellow model Adwoa Aboah for Glamour UK, Delevingne shared her coming out story and all the questions that came with telling friends and family that she identified as bisexual. "Once I spoke about my sexual fluidity, people were like, 'So you're gay'. And I'm like, 'No, I'm not gay'. A lot of the friends I have who are straight have such an old way of thinking," Delevingne told Aboah. "It's 'So you're just gay, right?' [They] don't understand it."

Delevingne continued to share her frustration at responses she got after coming out, for example, if she were to mention that she liked a guy. "[Then they're like], 'But you're gay.' I'm like, 'No, you're so annoying,'" said Delevingne, explaining that she didn't want to be pigeonholed when it comes to her sexuality. "Imagine if I got married to a man," Delevingne told Aboah in the interview. "Would people be like ... 'She lied to us!'"

The speculation surrounding Queen Latifah's sexuality has been going on pretty much since her first 1989 album, "All Hail the Queen." As she became more famous, branching out into acting and becoming a household name, as well as an Academy Award-nominated actress, the rumors and questions intensified.

In an interview with The New York Times in 2008, Latifah said, "I don't have a problem discussing the topic of somebody being gay, but I do have a problem discussing my personal life," she told the newspaper when her sexuality was questioned. "You don't get that part of me. Sorry ... I don't feel like I need to share my personal life, and I don't care if people think I'm gay or not. Assume whatever you want. You do it anyway."

A year later in 2009, Latifah again had some choice words during an interview for Essence, per Hello Beautiful saying, "They want to make up stories and make me gay all the time and it's like, 'Keep running with it.' I've definitely been annoyed by it, but I learned a long time ago that it was pointless to say anything. Everybody else can do the reading; I'll do the living." It wouldn't be until 2021 while accepting the Lifetime Achievement Award at the BET Awards that Latifa acknowledged her partner, Eboni Nichols, as well as her son, Rebel, for the very first time in a public space. She also closed out her acceptance speech with, "Happy Pride!"

In 2016, Keke Palmer released the music video for her song, "I Don't Belong To You," and in it, Palmer, dressed in lingerie, ends up going to a woman's home in her underwear. It's implied that the two women are going to have sex and so, of course, the media and fans alike wanted to know what this meant and demanded Palmer address her sexuality.

"The video was to represent the young woman today — it's not the traditional woman anymore — and not the specifics of 'Am I gay? Am I straight? Am I bi?'" Palmer told People regarding the questions surrounding the video. "I'm making the rules for myself, and I don't have to be stuck down to one label." Palmer continued to explain to the magazine that she doesn't need to define anything for anybody, because her feelings on the topic are always changing. "Why say that I'm this or that when I might not be tomorrow?" Palmer told People. "I'm gonna follow my own feelings and my own heart."

When it comes to media scrutiny and inappropriate questioning, Demi Lovato has been put through the wringer since their Disney Channel days. From their mental health issues to substance abuse, Lovato has found their name in the tabloids far too many times — and it has rarely been kind. Although Lovato came out as queer in 2020 and non-binary in 2021, changing their pronouns to the gender-neutral pronouns them/them, there was speculation about their sexuality long before that.

In response to all the inquiries about their sexuality, in 2017 Lovato told PrideSource, "I just feel like everyone's always looking for a headline and they always want their magazine or TV show or whatever to be the one to break what my sexuality is." Lovato went on to explain that they felt such a thing was completely irrelevant to their artistry. "I stand up for the things that I believe in and the things that I'm passionate about, but I like to keep my personal life as private as possible when it comes to dating and sexuality and all that stuff just because it has nothing to do with my music," said Lovato, before pointing out that everyone just wants to score a soundbite.

In April 2024, Billie Eilish sat down for an interview with Rolling Stone. When her song "Lunch" was brought up — an ode to giving cunnilingus — the topic shifted gears toward Eilish's sexuality. "That song was actually part of what helped me become who I am, to be real," said Eilish. "I wrote some of it before even doing anything with a girl, and then wrote the rest after. I've been in love with girls for my whole life, but I just didn't understand — until, last year, I realized I wanted my face in a vagina." While Eilish was fine with sharing this part of herself, she also expressed anger at how the media handles people's sexuality.

In a 2023 Variety interview, Eilish talked about her love for women and her attraction to them, and that's where the story should have ended. Instead, when she was on the red carpet in December 2023 to receive an award, the interviewer asked her if she meant to come out with the comments she'd made about women. "No, I didn't," she told the interviewer. "But I kind of thought, 'Wasn't it obvious?'" Later, on Instagram, Eilish posted about the exchange writing, "i like boys and girls leave me alone about it please literally who cares." As Eilish said in the Rolling Stone interview, "I was never planning on talking about my sexuality ever, in a million years. It's really frustrating to me that it came up."