Heechul Reveals The Touching Reason Why He’s Avoided Denying Gay Rumors For So Long

Super Junior member Heechul has long been faced with rumors around his sexuality, but he’s rarely denied any truth in them. On a recent episode of JTBC’s Love of 7.7 Billion, Heechul revealed the touching reason why he avoids denying being gay.

There are many reasons why netizens have targeted Heechul with sexuality rumors, from his “pretty boy” androgynous appearance to his many close friendships.

While Heechul has confirmed that he’s not gay in the past, fans have wondered why he often avoids discussing the rumors. While hosting Love of 7.7 Billion, a show where people from around the world share their views on relationships, Heechul spoke out about the downside of denying the rumors.

Heechul first noted that his sexuality has been a point of discussion since he debuted almost 15 years ago, mentioning that netizens have been paired him up with other male celebrities.

For those of you that may know, I’ve always had gay rumors follow me since my debut. I’ve had scandals with other male celebrities too.

— Kim Heechul

He also talked about why netizens always thought he must be gay.

I had a lot of these gay rumors go around because I had long hair and wore colored contacts since debut.

— Kim Heechul

Then, he revealed the considerate reason why he tries to ignore such rumors. While Heechul wanted to set the truth straight, he realized that his denial could be harmful to people who are actually gay.

I wanted to deny that I wasn’t a homosexual. But then I realized that if I did that I would be hurting the sexual minorities.

— Kim Heechul

It seems Heechul worried that denying being gay could make it seem like homosexuality is a bad thing. Knowing he likely has many gay fans, he didn’t want to make things difficult for them.

There could be gays amongst my male fans that come to our concerts in Korea and overseas and I would feel so sorry to them if I did that.

— Kim Heechul

This sweet reasoning is definitely in line with what ELFs know about Heechul. He once discussed the same-sex marriage of a famous Korean director, stating that love is between two people and they should never care about what others around them say.

Heechul is currently in a relationship with TWICE’s Momo, which is likely reducing the amount of rumors surrounding his sexuality.