Jameela Jamil regrets coming out in 'outburst', admits it wasn't 'well handled'

Jameela Jamil revealed her regrets at coming out as queer when she did.

The Good Place actress opened up about her sexuality earlier this year, after she was met with a wave of criticism for taking part in upcoming show Legendary – a competition focused on ballroom culture and voguing.

Many people slammed her appointment, feeling the panel should be exclusively made up of queer people or those familiar with the voguing culture – something she hit back at on social media.

And, discussing the ‘outburst’ over her sexuality, the 34-year-old admitted it was ‘not handled well’.

‘It was just an outburst. That was not well handled. I’m just human and I snapped! If I could go back I would have done it at a different time,’ she explained. 

‘I don’t know when it’s ever really appropriate, but that was not the best time.’

Opening up about the way she came out as queer, she confessed that she kept the news quiet because she wanted to keep part of her private life to herself – but is happy to have it ‘off her chest’.

‘I have never felt like my private life is mine alone, so I’ve been trying to grapple with how to handle that for so long because I don’t like having my love life scrutinised,’ she continued to Variety Live.

‘So I kept it quiet for a while to give myself some privacy and then it just burst out of me.

‘Not my favourite moment of the year. We live and we learn … it’s nice to have it off my chest.’

Jameela made headlines when she spoke about her sexuality in a lengthy post on social media last month, following the backlash.

Hitting back, she said: ’This is why I never officially came out as queer. I added a rainbow to my name when I felt ready a few years ago, as it’s not easy within the south Asian community to be accepted, and I always answered honestly if ever straight-up asked about it on Twitter.

‘But I kept it low because I was scared of the pain of being accused of performative bandwagon jumping, over something that caused me a lot of confusion, fear and turmoil when I was a kid.

‘I didn’t come from a family with anyone openly out. It’s also scary as an actor to openly admit your sexuality, especially when you’re already a brown female in your thirties. 

‘This is absolutely not how I wanted it to come out.

‘I’m jumping off this hell app for a while because I don’t want to read mean comments dismissing this. You can keep your thoughts (sic).’

After the message, she suggested that people still ‘don’t understand’ her sexuality.

In a candid chat with the Times, she added: ‘People are still kind of stuck in the linear and don’t understand the spectrum of sexuality.

‘I guess I’m bisexual, but also quite fancy everyone.

‘I don’t know if that means that I’m pansexual. But I don’t just fancy straight men; I fancy everyone.’

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