Gillian Anderson’s latest comments about her orientation were meant to give a name to something she had discussed publicly for years. Instead, the reveal quickly sent parts of the internet in a very different direction.
The X-Files star said she identifies as pansexual, explaining that she is attracted to people of all genders. While many fans welcomed her honesty, others immediately questioned why she chose to announce it now.
“Is her career faltering by any chance?” one person asked. Another wrote, “Marketing.”
Gillian Anderson revealed she is “pan” after years of talking about attraction to women
In an interview with The Australian on September 10, the 58-year-old openly addressed her s*xuality and said she identifies as ,”Pan, as in pansexual, as in attracted to all genders.”
The label marks a clearer description of her identity after years of speaking about attraction and relationships without settling on one specific term.
In a 2024 conversation with The New Yorker, Anderson had questioned whether bisexual or pansexual was the right description for her.
Anderson had also explained that she feels her s*xuality became easier to understand as she got older.
Patricia Luquet/Pexels (Not the actual image)
Speaking about her relationships with women, she said, “The person I consider my life partner happens to be male, but I think I would feel the same way if it were a woman.”
She added that when she was younger, she sometimes viewed relationships with women as temporary.
Her revelation received plenty of positive reactions online, but some people were less interested in discussing her identity.
Online detractors immediately doubted if Anderson’s career had anything to do with the reveal
One person wrote, “Not getting called for parts anymore, huh?” while another added, “At this age, inventing fashion”
A third wrote, “What a load of bol*ocks.”
Others questioned why celebrities make public announcements about their orientation at all.
“Why do they feel the need to make those announcements? Curious… is it supposed to be helpful? Educate me, please,” wrote one.
Others, however, shared different views.
One person said, “We always, always knew it,” while another wrote, “So what? Her life, her thing. Not that that changes anybody’s own life.”
Anderson had previously talked about her teenage relationship with a girl
In a 2012 interview with Out, she said, “I was in a relationship with a girl for a long time when I was in high school.”
At the time, Anderson explained that she did not consider herself 100% gay because she was also attracted to men.
“It’s possible that my attitude around it came, on some level, from knowing that I still liked boys.”
She gave more details about the relationship in an interview with the Sunday Times on August 16.
“It felt secretive and illicit and wrong, and we had to hide,” she said.
Anderson recalled that a boyfriend eventually discovered the relationship and ended things with her.
She also said she didn’t always have the language to understand those feelings when she was younger.
Her teenage years also included a rebellious streak. After moving from London to Michigan at 11, Anderson described herself as a p*nk outsider in a conservative town. She said she didn’t fit in and didn’t particularly want to.
Anderson’s roles has also helped her become more comfortable with her orientation
Anderson has connected her growing confidence with playing Stella Gibson in The Fall.
The character was openly s*xual and comfortable with her attraction to both men and women. Anderson has said that playing Stella helped her become more confident in her own s*xuality and contributed to what she later described as stepping into her “s*xual power” in her 40s, per The Guardian.
Her later role as s*x therapist Jean Milburn in Sex Education also pushed that side of her public persona even further. She said the show helped her become more comfortable discussing s*x and desire openly.
Monstera Production/Pexels (Not the actual image)
She described herself as “a very s*xual being” and said she now feels more comfortable in her own skin.
The series further led to her involvement with Want, her 2024 book collecting anonymous fantasies submitted by women. A follow-up, More, was released in September.
Anderson’s recent work includes the horror film Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma, in which she plays a former scream queen who mentors a younger filmmaker exploring her orientation.
“No one should care, it’s her personal life,” wrote one netizen
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