‘Straight guys can’t bottom?’ The Gilded Age’s Morgan Spector reacts to queerbaiting criticism
Morgan Spector attends the I Don’t Understand You New York Screening (Dominik Bindl/WireImage)
Morgan Spector attends the I Don't Understand You New York Screening (Dominik Bindl/WireImage)
The Gilded Age star Morgan Spector has addressed previous accusations of “queerbaiting” after identifying himself as a “bottom”.
The actor, who plays railroad magnate George Russell aka ‘Railroad Daddy’ in the historical drama series, went viral in queer social media circles after a 2024 interview in which he described himself as “creatively a bottom.”
In said interview for the LA Times’ Drama Talk roundtable Spector explained that he likes people to “tell me what to do and just let me obey”.
Appearing on the cover of GQ Hype on Wednesday (18 June) Spector insisted the comment was “a joke”.
He added: “I like being able to use my intuition and my intelligence to plug into somebody else’s ideas, learn their language, learn their way of communicating, figure out what the thing is that they’re trying to make, and then deliver that”.
He then concluded: “I guess it’s more of being a service top, creatively, than being a bottom”.
GQ also asked Spector about the queerbaiting accusations he faced following the comment.
Spector, who is straight, understood where the criticism came from but posed the question: “Straight guys can’t bottom?”
He then went on to say, “people can play with dominance and submission in heterosexual relationships. We’re living in a moment now where we’re exploding ideas of gender.
“We deconstruct, these things are not fixed…. It’s theater, baby. We’re all playing in the same sandbox in a certain way”.
Evan Ross Katz, a popular social media personality, has picked up Spector’s comments. And the comments section is overflowing with thirst.
“He is a BEAUTIFUL man,” one fan put while another labelled Spector “Truly one of the hottest guys to ever live.”
‘Queerbaiting’ was originally coined as a term for media such as film and TV shows that tried to draw in queer audiences by teasing LGBTQ+ themes without providing any real visibility.
It was has since been levelled at celebrities with who are seen to try to appeal queer fanbases without identifying as queer – something that in itself has been criticised after Heartstopper star Kit Connor admitted he felt ‘forced’ to come out publicly after accusations of queerbaiting.
The Gilded Age is streaming now.
