Actress Mae Whitman, best known for appearing in hit series like
Arrested Development,
Parenthood, and
Good Girls, casually came out as pansexual on Monday in a tweet expressing her gratitude for her current role as the voice of Amity Blight in
Disney Channel’s
The Owl House.
The show features the network’s first bisexual lead character.
“Just taking a moment to say I am SO proud to be even a small part of a show like
The Owl House,” Whitman writes. “Being pansexual myself, I wish I had such incredible characters like Amity and Luz in my life when I was growing up. Queer representation is sososo important :’) keep it up world! #TOH”
https://twitter.com/maebirdwing/status/1427356091613007888
The tweet also includes an illustration of the two characters by series creator Dana Terrace.
Knowing that some might be less familiar with pansexuality, Whitman followed up with another tweet explaining her views and why she feels this is the word that best defines her. She also provided an informative link to
GLAAD‘s resource page for bisexuality.
“For me it means I know I can fall in love with people of all genders,” she explains. “This is the word that fits me best and I’m proud+happy to be part of the Bi+ community.”
https://twitter.com/maebirdwing/status/1427356133040148493
Although
The Owl House is a groundbreaking show, this is not the first time Whitman has been involved with queer characters on screen. In Edgar Wright’s 2010 film
Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, an adaption of Bryan Lee O’Malley’s video game-inspired graphic novel series, Whitman played trash talking punk girl “Roxy” Richter, giving life to the infamous line, “I’m a little bi-furious!” In
Good Girls, she has a trans son.
She reprised the role last year for
Scott Pilgrim vs. The World Water Crisis, a cast reunion and script reading that benefited the charity
Water for People.
Some of Whitman’s other notable roles include Mary Elizabeth in
The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Bianca Piper in
The DUFF, and she is a prolific voice actress who has lent her talents to shows like
Avatar: The Last Airbender,
American Dad!, and Nickelodeon’s reboot of the
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
Connect with Whitman by following her on
Twitter and
Instagram.
Images via Mae Whitman Twitter and Instagram
