9-1-1 actor condemns homophobic backlash to character’s gay kiss

Firefighter Buck explores his bisexuality in latest episode

9-1-1 actor Oliver Stark has condemned the homophobic backlash that followed his character’s gay kiss in a surprise storyline aired to mark the show’s 100th episode.

*Spoilers for the latest episode of 9-1-1 follow – you have been warned*

Thursday’s episode (4 April) of the US drama series saw Stark’s character, firefighter Evan “Buck” Buckley, sharing a kiss with LAFD pilot Tommy Kinard (Lou Ferrigno Jr) after some flirtation.

Social media frenzy erupted following the kiss, with the majority of fans sharing their excitement about Buck’s storyline. Some negative commenters, however, said the kiss “ruined” the storyline.

Stark said on Instagram that he was “humbled and overwhelmed” by the positive reaction to Buck’s bisexuality, but he was disappointed to see the backlash.

“If you are one of the smaller group of people commenting on my posts about how this has ruined the show, I would like you to know that I truly don’t care,” he said.

Stark added that 9-1-1 is a show about “love and inclusion”, and that those who were offended by Buck’s bisexuality had missed its point.

“This is a show about love and inclusion. It’s featured queer relationships from the very beginning including a beautiful Black lesbian marriage played out by two of the best actresses I’ve ever watched,” he said.

Oliver Stark’s comment on the response to his character’s bisexuality on ‘9-1-1’ (Instagram / oliverstarkk)

“If one other character finding a new facet to his sexuality and realising his bisexuality is your deal breaker – I fear you’ve missed the entire point of the show."

He concluded: “You are not required to announce your departure.”

Stark told Entertainment Weekly that he felt like the groundwork for Thursday’s kiss had been laid throughout several seasons – even if it wasn’t clear to viewers.

“I think it’s been seasons and seasons in the making, so it’s really nice to see it officially come to fruition,” he said. “I think the crumbs have been there. Maybe on one hand in quite obvious ways, but on the other hand, in less obvious ways.”

Louis Ferrigno Jr. and Oliver Stark in ‘9-1-1’ (Disney/Chris Willard)

Stark said that his character has a “reckoning” to deal with in coming episodes, as he starts opening up about his sexuality to the people closest to him.

“Certainly for somebody finding this in their thirties, they’d be questioning, right? ‘What does this mean?’ ‘Who am I?’” he said.

“So there’s some reckoning to deal with in the next episode, and then leaning on the people that are closest to him, and finding the right moments to open up and how much to share.”

9-1-1 airs on Thursdays at 8 pm ET/PT on ABC in the US and streams on Disney+ in the UK.