Love, Simon star Keiynan Lonsdale: My preferred pronoun is ‘tree’
Love, Simon star Keiynan Lonsdale has a surprising preferred pronoun—tree.
The actor, known for roles as Bram in gay teen romance Love, Simon and Wally West in The Flash TV show, spoke to fans in an Instagram Q&A livestream this week.
In the Q&A session, Lonsdale had an unusual response when asked about preferred pronouns.
“I don’t want to go by ‘he’ anymore, I just want to go by ‘tree.’”
—Keiynan Lonsdale
The film star said: “Okay, this might sound stupid, but I don’t care. I hope this doesn’t… I don’t think this is offensive, but, I don’t want to go by ‘he’ anymore, I just want to go by ‘tree.’
I want people to call me ‘tree,’ because we all come from trees, so it doesn’t matter if you’re a he or a she or a they or a them. At the end of the day, everyone’s a tree.
“I want to call my friends tree, and me tree, and everyone tree. So, I think now when people ask me what my preferred pronoun is, I’m going to say ‘tree.’”
Keiynan Lonsdale as Bram (Love, Simon)
Lonsdale quipped: “I’m not high by the way, this is just me.”
Fans were not clear how serious the actor was being, though several pointed out humans are not in fact descended from trees.
The star, who came last year, was also asked about sexuality during the livestream.
Keiynan Lonsdale (Love, Simon)
The 26-year-old said: “Someone says ‘Are you gay?’… I’m still surprised I get this question!
“I came out not really as anything last year, but as not straight. A year and a half ago.
“Now it just depends on the day, sometimes I’m bisexual, sometimes I’m gay, sometimes I feel straight, sometimes I’m not anything. It doesn’t matter. Either way, throughout all of that, I’m Keiynan.
“So if your question is, ‘Are you Keiynan?’… yes, I am Keiynan!”
Lonsdale came out in May 2017, ahead of the release of Love, Simon.
Keiynan Lonsdale (Love, Simon)
The actor wrote: “I like to change my hair, I like to take risks with how I dress, I like girls, & I like guys (yes), I like growing, I like learning, I like who I am and I really like who I’m becoming.
“Spent way too many years hating myself, thinking I was less valuable because I was different.. which is just untrue. A couple years ago I was able to accept myself, & it saved my life, but now I’ve gotten to a new road block & I feel kind of lost.
“I gotta take the next step & actually embrace who I am, which is pretty exciting. Not faking shit anymore, not apologising for falling in love with people no matter their gender.”
