In honor of Pride Month, Lili Reinhart came out as bisexual in support of the LGBTQ+ community and Black Lives Matter. The Riverdale actress, who plays Betty Cooper on the teen drama, came out in a post on her Instagram Story on Wednesday, June 3.
In the post, Lili shared a poster for an LGBTQ+ for #BlackLivesMatter protest in West Hollywood on Wednesday, which she encouraged her followers to attend. “Although I’ve never announced it publicly before, I am a proud bisexual woman. I will be joining this protest today. Come join,” she wrote with a heart emoji.
After she came out, the Hustlers actress received a pouring of love from fans on Instagram and Twitter, who were proud of her statement for the LGBTQ+ community and Black Lives Matter. “@lilireinhart coming out as bisexual on the june 3rd, the pride day dedicated to bisexuality, makes me so happy. we’re all so happy and proud of you lili ❤,” one user wrote. Another added, “omg lili just basically came out.” One more person wrote, “I’m so incredible proud of Lili wow.”
Lili’s Instagram Story comes after she split from her Riverdale costar Cole Sprouse after almost four years of on-again, off-again dating. Though neither Lili nor Cole—who play love interests Betty Cooper and Jughead Jones on Riverdale—have confirmed the breakup, Cole’s twin brother, Dylan Sprouse, commented on the split in a recent interview with Entertainment Tonight, telling fans that his sibling is quarantined with his Riverdale costar, KJ Apa, since the breakup.
“I mean, he’s living,” Dylan said. “Him and KJ in the very beginning of quarantine ended up staying together at KJ’s place in Los Angeles. So, they’re isolating together, which is very cute.”
Lili’s march in a West Hollywood protest for the LGBTQ+ community and Black Lives Matter also comes after the murder of George Floyd, a 46-year-old unarmed black man, who was killed by a white police officer in Minneapolis on May 25. Floyd died after police officer Derek Chauvin placed his knee on his neck for almost nine minutes. Four days after his death, Chauvin was arrested and charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter. Three other police officers who were present but did nothing to prevent his death are still under investigation, as of May 29. All officers have been fired.
“I want to say that I am ashamed of the racism that exists in this country. We are taught to look at our police officers as helpful and friendly when we learn about “leaders” in elementary school. Our “leaders” have failed us today,” Lili tweeted on June 1.