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True Blood star Anna Paquin speaks about the bi erasure she experiences because she married a man

‘People confuse bisexuality with, frankly, open relationships and polyamory’

Peony Hirwani
Friday 25 June 2021 09:11 BST
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File image: Stephen Moyer and Anna Paquin at the 27th annual Elton John AIDS Foundation Academy Awards Viewing Party
File image: Stephen Moyer and Anna Paquin at the 27th annual Elton John AIDS Foundation Academy Awards Viewing Party (Getty Images)

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Anna Paquin has spoken out about the “bi-erasure” she experiences after marrying Stephen Moyer.

“It just felt weird being assumed to be straight because I was married to a man,” she told SiriusXM’s The Jess Cagle Podcast.

The 38-year-old True Blood actor tied the knot with co-star Moyer in 2010, the same year she came out as bisexual.

“If I had fallen in love with a woman and lived happily ever after, I would still be bisexual,” the actor said. “That wouldn’t erase that.”

She explained how people “confuse bisexuality with, frankly, open relationships and polyamory”.

“That’s where people usually enter the conversation,” the New Zealand-Canadian actor said.

Stephen Moyer and Anna Paquin attend the 77th Annual Golden Globe Awards
Stephen Moyer and Anna Paquin attend the 77th Annual Golden Globe Awards (Getty Images)

“They’re like, ‘So what does that mean if you get married?’ Actually, that’s entirely your business what your marriage is like, but that’s a really massive misconception that people throw at you, or that somehow the relationship you’re currently in means (less),” she added.

The X-Men star additionally conceded that it’s hard for her to openly challenge every one of the misinterpretations as “people are very quick to say ‘Oh, that’s too much information, don’t tell me what goes on in your bedroom.’”

“I’m like, ‘I didn’t!’” she added, while highlighting the “double standards” individuals in the LGBTQ+ community are regularly approached with.

“One day there will be a time when it just won’t be a big deal,” she said. “But while it’s still literally illegal and punishable by death to be LGBTQ+ in multiple countries across the planet then, yeah, I’m gonna keep talking about it!”

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