Stranger Things star responds to fan theories that his character is gay

Stranger Things

star Dacre Montgomery has addressed speculation that that his character Billy is gay.

The Australian actor’s bullying character Billy is one of the many new faces to appear in the newly-released second season of the hit Netflix sci-fi series, and his hostility towards Steve Harrington (Joe Keery) has led some fans to questions whether he’s secretly attracted to him

However, Montgomery has debunked the theory in a new interview with the Huffington Post.

“Somebody touched on that the other day. ‘Is Billy attracted to Steve?’ And I was like, ‘No, I don’t think he is’, he said.

“I don’t think it’s like this confused, homoerotic kind of thing. I think it’s literally he’s threatened by all these characters in his life.”

Viewers have also seen some of Billy’s backstory portrayed onscreen, showing just how evil his father is.

In a terrifying scene, Billy’s father (Will Chase) scolds him for not looking after his sister and calls Billy a “faggot”.

Montgomery says he found the show’s inclusion of the anti-gay slur “jarring” before revealing that, while much of Billy’s own foul language was cut from the show, that scene “needed to be left in.”

“It does scream so many things about the time and about how freely this particular character [uses] this word. So I think it says a lot more than what a douchebag my dad is.”

The Power Rangers star, 22, continued: “It’s the beginning of a lot of stuff. We sort of chatted a bit with [Stranger Things creators Matt and Ross Duffer] about humanising the villain and seeing Billy as a real person.”

Montgomery then teased that this was just the beginning for Billy, as his character is set to become much worse in the show’s next season.

“There’s something far more sinister going on with Billy,” he said. “We’ll see how that unfolds.”

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