De 37-jarige Bailey, die momenteel te zien is als Fiyero in de aankomende musicalfilm Wicked: For Good, reageerde op de bekendmaking: “Het is volstrekt absurd,” lacht hij. “Ik bedoel, ik giechel er gewoon om.” In The Tonight Show van Jimmy Fallon voegde hij toe: “Dank je wel, Jimmy, dat je de titel hebt afgeslagen zodat ik hier kon staan.” Toen hem werd gevraagd of hij denkt dat mensen hem nu anders zullen behandelen, zei hij met een lach: “Ik hóóp het verdomme wel!”
Bailey werd wereldwijd bekend als de charmante Lord Anthony Bridgerton in de populaire Netflix-serie Bridgerton. Zijn rol in de miniserie Fellow Travelers, waarin hij een geheimzinnige relatie heeft met een collega, gespeeld door Matt Bomer, in het Amerika van de jaren ’50, leverde hem lovende recensies, een Critics’ Choice Award én een Emmy-nominatie op.
maakt de veertigste verjaardag van de titel extra bijzonder. Sinds de eerste winnaar – Mel Gibson in 1985 – hebben Hollywoodsterren als Chris Evans, Patrick Dempsey, Idris Elba en Michael B. Jordan de eer gehad. Bailey is bovendien de eerste openlijk homoseksuele acteur die de titel ontvangt.
Bailey heeft nooit een geheim gemaakt van zijn geaardheid, maar sprak eerder over het belang van zichtbaarheid. In een interview met The Standard in 2021 zei hij: “Ik zou zeggen: ik ben niet ‘openlijk homo’, ik ben gewoon homo. … Ik wist dat ik zichtbaar wilde zijn met mijn seksualiteit, want misschien kijkt er ergens een jongen thuis die denkt: ‘Hé, wacht even…?’ en dat had ik vroeger niet.”
Comments
Bailey's reaction to being named Sexiest Man Alive made me laugh—calling it 'absurd' and joking about hoping people treat him differently feels very down to earth. I didn't realize he's the first openly gay actor to get the title, which makes this year feel a bit more significant.
Jonathan Bailey’s reaction to being named Sexiest Man Alive made me laugh, especially when he joked about hoping people will treat him differently now. It’s also pretty significant that he’s the first openly gay actor to get this title, especially on the award’s 40th anniversary.
I really enjoyed how Bailey handled the announcement with humor, especially his comment about hoping people treat him differently now. It seems like he’s not taking the title too seriously, which makes it feel genuine.
I love how Jonathan Bailey just laughed off being named 'Sexiest Man Alive' and even joked about hoping people will treat him differently now. It's also interesting that he’s the first openly gay actor to get this title, especially as the award hits its fortieth year.
Bailey’s reaction to being named Sexiest Man Alive made me laugh, especially his comment about hoping people treat him differently now. It’s also interesting that this is the fortieth anniversary of the title, and he’s the first openly gay actor to get it.
Jonathan Bailey's reaction to being named 'Sexiest Man Alive' made me smile—he seems genuinely amused by the whole thing. I didn't realize it's the fortieth anniversary of the title, which does make his win feel even more special, especially as the first openly gay actor to receive it.
I enjoyed how Jonathan Bailey’s reaction felt so genuine, especially when he said he just giggles about the whole Sexiest Man Alive title. It seems like he doesn’t take it too seriously, which makes him even more relatable. Also, it’s great to see him being recognized as the first openly gay actor for this honor.
I really enjoyed how Jonathan Bailey seems to take the Sexiest Man Alive title with a lot of humor, especially his comment about hoping people treat him differently now. It’s refreshing to see someone so grounded and playful about such a spotlight.
I really enjoyed how Jonathan Bailey handled the announcement with such humor, especially his hope that people will treat him differently now. It seems like he doesn’t take the title too seriously, which makes him even more likable in my eyes.
I found it really charming how Jonathan Bailey laughed off the whole Sexiest Man Alive title and even joked about hoping people treat him differently now. It seems like he doesn’t take himself too seriously, which is refreshing.
I chuckled at Bailey’s reaction to the ‘Sexiest Man Alive’ title—it feels very on-brand that he finds it absurd and just laughs about it. His comment on hoping people treat him differently was hilarious. Also, it’s striking that he’s the first openly gay actor to get this recognition.
I really enjoyed how Jonathan Bailey didn’t take the title too seriously and even joked about it on Jimmy Fallon. It seems like he has a great sense of humor about the whole thing, which makes the honor feel more genuine.
I really enjoyed how Jonathan Bailey seemed so down-to-earth and amused by the whole 'Sexiest Man Alive' title—his reaction on Jimmy Fallon was charming. It’s nice to see someone recognized not just for looks but also for their impressive work in shows like Bridgerton and Fellow Travelers.
I think Jonathan Bailey's reaction to being named Sexiest Man Alive is really refreshing—his laughter and humility make the whole thing feel so genuine. It's also great to see him recognized not just for looks but for his impressive range in roles like Lord Anthony Bridgerton and Fellow Travelers.
Bailey’s reaction to being named ‘Sexiest Man Alive’ made me smile—he really doesn’t seem to take himself too seriously. I didn’t realize he was the first openly gay actor to get the title, which feels like a pretty significant milestone.
I think it’s great that Jonathan Bailey seems to take the ‘Sexiest Man Alive’ title with a good sense of humor, especially his comment about hoping people treat him differently. It’s interesting how his roles in Bridgerton and Fellow Travelers have really shaped his public image.
I found Jonathan Bailey's reaction to being named Sexiest Man Alive really charming, especially how he joked about giggling and hoping people treat him differently now. It seems like a great moment for him, especially with his impressive roles in Bridgerton and Fellow Travelers.
I love how Jonathan Bailey handled the announcement with humor, especially his comment about hoping people treat him differently now. It’s also pretty cool that he’s the first openly gay actor to get the title, given how long the award has been around.
I found it really refreshing that Jonathan Bailey seems to take the whole 'Sexiest Man Alive' title with such humor, especially his comment about hoping people treat him differently now. It feels like he doesn’t take the spotlight too seriously, which is nice to see.
I love how Jonathan Bailey handled the whole announcement with humor, especially his comment about hoping people will treat him differently now. It's wild to think he’s the first openly gay actor to get this title after so many years—it really does make the anniversary feel more significant.
I found Bailey's reaction to the Sexiest Man Alive title refreshingly down-to-earth, especially his hope that people will treat him differently now. It seems like he really doesn’t take the spotlight too seriously, which is nice to see given the attention from roles like Lord Anthony Bridgerton.
I really enjoyed how Jonathan Bailey handled the Sexiest Man Alive title with such humor, especially his hope that people will treat him differently now. It’s refreshing to see someone so down-to-earth, and his work in both Bridgerton and Fellow Travelers definitely shows his range.
I love how Jonathan Bailey took the news with such humor, especially his reaction on The Tonight Show about hoping people will treat him differently now. The fact that he's the first openly gay actor to get this title really does make this year stand out.
Bailey's reaction to being named 'Sexiest Man Alive' really made me smile—calling it 'absurd' and laughing it off feels so genuine. I also didn't realize he was the first openly gay actor to get the title, which is pretty significant.
I found Jonathan Bailey's reaction to being named Sexiest Man Alive really charming, especially how he joked about giggling and hoping people treat him differently now. It’s cool to see someone so down-to-earth despite all the buzz around his roles in Bridgerton and Fellow Travelers.
I liked how Bailey handled the announcement with humor, especially his joke about hoping people will treat him differently now. It’s also interesting that he’s the first openly gay actor to get the title, which definitely feels significant for the 40th anniversary.
Bailey’s reaction to the title being 'absurd' actually made me laugh—he seems genuinely surprised by all the attention. I didn’t realize this was the fortieth anniversary of the Sexiest Man Alive title, so it feels kind of fitting that he’s the first openly gay actor to get it.
I think Jonathan Bailey’s reaction to being named Sexiest Man Alive really shows his down-to-earth personality. It’s refreshing how he joked about hoping people treat him differently after the announcement, which feels genuine rather than staged.