Supergirl and Grey’s Anatomy star Chyler Leigh thanks queer community for ‘outpouring of love and support’ after her coming out
Supergirl star Chyler Leigh at the 2019 Comic-Con in San Diego (Amy Sussman/Getty)
Chyler Leigh has thanked her fans for the “outpouring of love and support” she’s received since coming out as a member of the LGBT+ community.
Best known as Lexie Grey in Grey’s Anatomy, Leigh currently stars in the CW series Supergirl as Kara Danvers’ sister Alex, who realises she is a lesbian in the show’s second season.
The actor recently came out in a moving blog post that described how her storyline in Supergirl helped her come to terms with her own sexuality.
On Monday, Leigh thanked her fans for their support in a heartfelt Instagram post, admitting that the revelation has allowed her to “breathe a little easier”.
“Hi friends. Today I’ve received an outpouring of love and support for acknowledging and loving myself as the person I truly am,” she began.
“Once we face our own true selves, we can better see the world around us, as well as how we can make a positive and lasting change for the sake of equality and love.
“I’m grateful to see more clearly, breathe a little easier, and I’m proud to contribute to all that I believe in with an honest, open heart. Sending love to you all.”
While Leigh hasn’t put a label on her sexuality, her blog post explains how Alex Danvers’ coming out resonated with her personally and later led her to the realisation that she was a member of the LGBT+ community.
“When I was told that my character was to come out in season two, a flurry of thoughts and emotions flew through and around me because of the responsibility I felt to authentically represent Alex’s journey,” she wrote.
“What I didn’t realise was how the scene where she finally confessed her truth would leap off the pages of the script and genuinely become a variation of my own, IRL.”
The scene was widely praised by fans as well as the Supergirl director and cast, who said it was the most authentic coming out scene they’d ever witnessed.
