Kristen Stewart says she felt pressure and 'responsibility' to publicly define her sexuality, revealing she came out as gay because she thought she had to 'say one way or the other'
- Kristen, 29, opened up about her sexuality and confessing to being 'so gay'
- She made the statement on Saturday Night Live in 2017 after previously being linked to men, including Twilight star Robert Pattinson
- But in an interview, Kristen confessed to feeling frustrated about needing to define her sexuality to the public
- She was happy stars today could embrace being gender fluid if they want
- Kristen dated model Stella Maxwell until the pair broke up in December 2018
Kristen Stewart has admitted to feeling a 'huge responsibility' to define her sexuality to the public when she came out as 'so gay' on Saturday Night Live two years ago.
The 29-year-old actress previously dated men, including fellow Twilight actor Robert Pattinson. But Kristen then felt she had to define her sexuality after also being seen out with women.
'I felt this huge responsibility, like one that I was really genuinely worried about, if I wasn't able to say one way or the other, then was I sort of like forsaking a side,' Kristen told the Associated Press.
Revealed: Kristen Stewart, 29, opened up about her sexuality and confessing to being 'so gay'
Throwback: She made the statement on Saturday Night Live in 2017 after previously being linked to men, including Twilight star Robert Pattinson (pictured in 2012)
Something new: Kristen later went on to date model Stella Maxwell before they broke up in December 2018. But she confessed to being frustrated about having to define her sexuality
Since her admittance to being 'so gay' in 2017, the landscape for defining sexuality has changed. Young stars are more willing to embrace being neither straight nor gay, which Kristen thinks is important.
'The fact that you don't have to now is like so much more truthful,' Kristen said.
Stars including Sophie Turner, 23, and Miley Cyrus, 26, proudly refuse to put an exact label on their sexuality — instead confessing to being gender fluid, which is someone whose gender identity is not fixed.
'If you were to have this conversation with someone like in high school, they'd probably like roll their eyes and go, "Why are you complicating everything so much?"...Just sort of do what you want to do,'' Kristen said. 'It's really nice.'
But Kristen said the landscape can be difficult for people to navigate, given the terminology available to describe sexuality.
'I just feel like we don't even have the words to describe the complexities of identity right now,' she said.
Kristen dated Robert, 32, until she was caught cheating him with Snow White and the Huntsman director, Rupert Sanders, in 2012. They broke up quickly after pictures showed Kirsten in an intimate embrace with Rupert.
At the time of their relationship, Kristen confessed to feeling like she needed to keep it private and away from the public because of their star status from the Twilight franchise.
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Proud: Kirsten liked that younger stars in Hollywood now had the option to embrace gender fluidity compared to when she was first going through the industry
Needs work: 'I just feel like we don't even have the words to describe the complexities of identity right now,' she said about defining sexuality
'Everything personal felt like it was immediately trivialized, so I didn’t like it … We were turned into these characters and placed into this ridiculous comic book, and I was like, "That’s mine. You’re making my relationship something that it’s not,"' she previously told Elle UK in 2016.
'I didn’t like that.'
Kristen was then pictured with multiple women before dating Victoria's Secret model Stella Maxwell, 28, starting in January 2017.
Dating women, Kristen said, encouraged her to be less secretive about relationships as she did not want the public to perceive her as being 'ashamed' of her different partners.
'I was like, "Actually, to hide this provides the implication that I'm not down with it or I'm ashamed of it," so I had to alter how I approached being in public,' Kristen said at the time. 'It opened my life up and I'm so much happier.'
She and Stella parted ways in December 2018, according to reports.
Since the split, the actress has been busy on a press tour for her movie JT LeRoy and wrapping up filming of the newest revival of Charlie's Angels.
