Jonathan Bailey Discusses ‘Shame’ and Future Fatherhood in Shirtless Bridgerton Shoot for Esquire UK

Jonathan Bailey has opened up about the motivating power of shame, as he explained how he wanted to use his success to help others in the LGBTQIA+ community.

The actor, 37, appeared on the cover of Esquire UK‘s Better Man issue, displaying his handsome good looks in the racy accompanying photoshoot.

Referencing his famous role in Bridgerton, he posed up a storm in a black blazer and trousers with a white cravat around his neck, but forgoing a shirt underneath to flash a steamy glimpse of his chiselled chest.

Speaking to the publication, Jonathan talked about his plans for the Shameless Fund, a charitable initiative he launched last year to raise money for LGBTQ+ initiatives.

Discussing his motivation to harness his power of celebrity to make a difference for the community, he admitted to having felt ‘shame’ as a gay man, calling it ‘part of the human experience’.

However, Jonathan – who was just named the first openly gay Sexiest Man Alive by People – insisted that he was also aware of his privilege and how he had benefitted from ‘everyone who came before’, inspiring him to want to help his community back.

The Wicked star said: ‘I think we all feel shame. Anyone who’s ever felt any sort of aggression or corrective judgement. That’s part of the human experience. 

‘But of course, there is this huge triangle of privilege within it. And I’m fully aware that I’m right at the top of that. I’m also a massive benefactor of everyone who came before me. 

‘If, in the short time that I’m here, I can be a benefactor of the plight and the fight of a community that created a world in which I can play a Winkie prince…’

Detailing where he hopes to take the Shameless Fund, he went on: ‘The aim is to scale it up, and it’s exciting. One of the metrics of success is the money we raise, but another metric is joy and activation.

‘When it comes to showing up in a way that supports the LGBTQIA+ global community, it’s about being creative in a time when the bumpers have been put up.

‘People currently feel straitjacketed about how they tell stories and engage with potential customers and communities in a time when community is being pulled apart at the sinews. It’s about thinking of ways to bring people back together.’

With his work with the Shameless Fund and his career skyrocketing this year off the back of starring turns in Jurassic World Rebirth and Wicked: For Good, Jonathan also revealed his thoughts about starting a family.

He candidly admitted: ‘There’s obviously loads of kids that could really benefit from love and support. 

‘I have the absolute privilege of being a gay man — there’s no biological clock. It’s such a privilege, isn’t it, to even be able to have a kid? 

‘So, I’m aware of it as an idea, as a concept, but it doesn’t feel very loud in my head at the moment.’

Jonathan previously confessed to feeling pressured to hide his sexuality in order to further his career after being told a publicly gay actor would struggle to win roles. 

He admitted to having reservations about public disclosure after discussing the issue with actor friends and casting directors about the difficulties associated with being openly gay in the TV and film industry. 

Speaking to GQ Hype in 2022, he recalled his initial reaction after a friend told him about his own experience while auditioning for roles.

He recalled: ‘At the time he was told “There’s two things we don’t want to know: If you’re an alcoholic or if you’re gay.”

‘All it takes is for one of those people in that position of power to say that, and it ripples through. So, yeah, of course I thought that. Of course I thought that in order to be happy, I needed to be straight.’  

Eventually he made the decision to be speak publicly about his sexuality after becoming frustrated with the restrictions a closeted public image placed on his personal life.     

He said: ‘I reached a point where I thought, “F**k this.” I’d much prefer to hold my boyfriend’s hand in public or be able to put my own face picture on Tinder and not be so concerned about that, than getting a part.’ 

Jonathan came out to his close friends and family in his early twenties, after he was in a two-year relationship with a woman. 

He previously said of his sexuality: ‘It’s interesting with the binary, where you’re perceived to be either this or that. That’s how I saw it at the time, but there are so many nuances to it.

‘My experience of that relationship was not that I was in the shadows. She remains one of my best friends. I think other people understood my sexuality before I was even aware of it.’