Riverdale & Stranger Things Star Shannon Purser Has Come Out As Bisexual

A debate with Riverdale fans on social media prompted Shannon Purser to publicly come out as bisexual late last night.

The 19-year-old actress, who plays Ethel on the teen drama, made the reveal after clashing with some viewers about a same-sex kiss between Archie Andrews' two love interests on the show, Betty (Lili Reinhart) and Veronica (Camila Mendes), during cheerleader tryouts. The smooch was immediately written off by another character as "faux-lesbianism," but fans have been eager to see the characters defy the standard heteronormative Archie storyline.

Purser called out the "angry Beronica stans" in a tweet, which has since been deleted, to costar Cole Sprouse. Beronica shippers were offended, causing Purser to defend herself against accusations of "queer-baiting."

"Ships are great, being horrible to people who don't ship your ship is not," the actress, who famously played fan favourite Barb on Stranger Things, tweeted about the drama.

"And I get that, representation is so powerful and important," she continued. "But we didn't write the show? We have literally no say in what happens. Lemme clarify, not angry at Beronica stans. Not even angry at rightfully upset Beronica stans. Disappointed with hateful people. Peace."

The conflict clearly upset Purser, as she drafted and posted a note about her bisexuality.

"I don't normally do this, but I figure now is just as good a time as any to get personal," she wrote. "I've only just recently come out as bisexual to my family and friends. It's something I am still processing and trying to understand and I don't like talking about it too much.

"I'm very very new to the LGBT community," she continued. "I have never heard the term 'queer-baiting' in my life until today. That being said, I have never ever wanted to alienate anyone and my tweet was thoughtless. I wasn't referring to all the Beronica shippers, just the ones who had been particularly cruel to me personally. Either way, it wasn't a wise or kind thing to say and I'm disappointed in myself, especially as a Christian who has always been taught to speak love to others.

"Thank you to all the people who kindly reached out to me and educated me about the reality [of] your feelings about queer-baiting and I apologise to those who were hurt."

Purser had recently tweeted about having "anxiety" and trying to "get comfortable" with her sexuality, but had not clarified her sexual orientation until now.