Gay Wicked star Jonathan Bailey quizzed on girls in hilariously awkward old interview: ‘Girls are a mystery to me’

An unearthed interview from the early 2010s sees Wicked star Jonathan Bailey, a famously gay man, being awkwardly quizzed about his interest in women.

A post shared on X/Twitter yesterday (24 November) shows a clipping of a magazine interview with Bailey from his time as a star of CBBC show, Leonardo.

Bailey starred as the titular protagonist Leonardo da Vinci in the show between 2011 and 2012, when he was aged 23 to 24.

At the time, it’s likely that Bailey would’ve been out as a gay man to his loved ones, as he’s previously revealed that he came out in his early twenties to his friends and family.

It wasn’t until 2018, when he was 30-years-old, that he came out publicly.

In the interview, which the original poster said was with Top of the Pops magazine, Bailey was asked about what he looks for in a girlfriend, and whether he had any chemistry with his Leonardo co-star Flora Spencer-Longhurst.

It’s good to know that the Bridgerton beau is just like the rest of the gays in some ways, having being interrogated on women despite his glaring homosexuality.

Asked whether he is good at noticing when girls notice him, Bailey responded: “Girls are a mystery to me. I like the idea of being a gentleman but there’s nothing better than knowing efforts are being made both sides.”

everyone jumping on the jonathan bailey train when i just found this actual ancient artefact in my cupboard😭😭😭😭 pic.twitter.com/TVfJlYzEHu

— izzy ☆ (@rneerapps) November 24, 2024

Social media users have since quipped that it’s no wonder girls were a mystery to Heartopper mega fan Bailey.

He added: “The good news is I’ve got three older sisters, so if I ever need some translation, I call them up and say, ‘This girl said this, what do you think?’ They almost always say, ‘She’s not interested!’”

Grilled on whether he and Spencer-Longhurt had “on-set passion”, he hilariously replied: “Flora was dressed as a boy half of the time, so that was never really an option.”

He went on to swiftly change the subject, explaining how his co-star actually got him the Leonardo gig in the first place.

Yet the interviewer was keen to mine more information from our Jonny about his approach to meeting women, asking whether he’s confident around the opposite sex.

“I used to be a bit scared. I think if you fancy someone, you always get nervous. But I’m getting better at the boy/girl thing,” he shared coyly, adding that his “ideal girlfriend” would be someone with “passion” who is “really cool”.

“You know, like when you’re with a girl, and it’s never awkward, or you’re never thinking there are going to be tumbleweeds,” he said, trying his very best.

He rounded off by confirming that he was “terrified” of increased “female attention” following his turn in Leonardo, telling the interviewer: “It’s something you don’t think about but if it means there are few more friendly faces to chat to, that would be nice.”

Apologies to all Leonardo fans, Jonathan Bailey is our gay toe-sucking Fellow Travelers icon now. 

Bailey is currently starring as the canonically bisexual Fiyero alongside Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo in Jon M. Chu’s musical epic Wicked.

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