‘Jurassic World’ star Justice Smith comes out publicly as queer
The screen star confirmed his relationship with actor Nicholas Ashe as the pair reminded fans that Black Trans Lives Matter.
By Will Stroude
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom star Justice Smith has come out publicly as queer, while similtanously confirming his relationship with fellow actor Nicholas Ashe.
The 24-year-old US actor, who has also appeared in films including Detective Pikachu and Paper Towns, opened up about his sexuality publicly for the first time on Instagram as he publicly declared solidarity with Black Trans Lives Matter following a protest in New Orleans.
Sharing a video of the protest alongside a series of pictures of himself with Ashe, Smith urged those taking part in anti-racism protests to also fight for trans and queer Black people.
“@nckash and I protested today in New Orleans. We chanted ‘Black Trans Lives Matter’ ‘Black Queer Lives Matter’ ‘All Black Lives Matter’,” Smith wrote.
“As a black queer man myself, I was disappointed to see certain people eager to say Black Lives Matter, but hold their tongue when Trans/Queer was added.
“I want to reiterate this sentiment: if your revolution does not include Black Queer voices, it is anti-black. If your revolution is okay with letting black trans people like #TonyMcDade slip through the cracks in order to solely liberate black cishet men, it is anti-black.”
He continued: “You are trying to push yourself through the door of a system designed against you, and then shut the door behind you. It is in our conditioning to get as close to whiteness, straightness, maleness as we can because that’s where the power is. And if we appeal to it, maybe it’ll give us a slice.
“But the revolution is not about appeal. It is about demanding what should have been given to us from the beginning. What should have been given to black, queer, and trans individuals from the beginning. Which is the right to exist. To live and prosper in public. Without fear of persecution or threat of violence.
“There is so much tragedy on the timeline these last couple of days so I added some photos of me and Nic to show some #blackboyjoy #blacklove #blackqueerlove.
“You’ve been my rock and guiding light through all of this and I love you so much. I know that on the other side of this Is change, though the fight is far from over.”
yo tf i didn’t come out, y’all came in
— Justice Smith (@standup4justice) June 6, 2020
Following an outpouring of support, Smith poked fun at news of his ‘coming out’, writing on Twitter: “yo tf i didn’t come out, y’all came in”.