Chris Colfer Says He Became "Very Agoraphobic" While On "Glee"

"I loved pretending...I loved creating other people, creating characters,"

"I was playing an openly gay teenager at a time when people did not like seeing openly gay teenagers on television... It was not welcome. And the death threats and the security risks started almost immediately. I became very agoraphobic."

"Late night talk show hosts would take cracks at me, and it was perfectly fine because I was the gay kid. Politicians would say things about me publicly, perfectly fine because I was the gay kid. Pastors of mega churches would call me the anti-Christ, and it was perfectly accepted, because I was the gay kid. There was no one defending me. There was no one coming to my rescue."

Glee premiered in 2009 amid a cultural climate that was hostile toward gay people. Chris Colfer portrayed an openly gay teenager and immediately encountered severe backlash, including death threats and security risks. The sustained public scrutiny and threats led him to become agoraphobic. Public figures such as late-night hosts, politicians, and megachurch pastors targeted him, and he received little to no public defense. He notes that societal attitudes have improved since the early 2000s, making the level of earlier hostility seem difficult for some people to believe now.

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