Lili Reinhart, best known for her role as Betty Cooper of The CW series Riverdale, has come out as bisexual.
The 23-year-old actress revealed on Wednesday that she’s a member of the LGBTQ+ community in an Instagram Story encouraging her nearly 24 million followers to join her at an LGBTQ+ for Black Lives Matter protest happening that day in West Hollywood, California.
“Although I’ve never announced it publicly before, I am a proud bisexual woman,” Reinhart wrote under the details about the rally. “And I will be joining this protest today. Come join.”
Later that afternoon, Reinhart took to her Instagram Stories again to share two short videos from the peaceful demonstration. The said rally was one of the several ongoing anti-racism protests across the world sparked by the death of George Floyd, an African-American from Minneapolis who died after white police officer Derek Chauvin kneeled on his neck for nearly nine minutes.
Before joining one of the protests, Reinhart has already been speaking out on social media against police brutality and racial injustice. “I want to say that I am ashamed of the racism that exists in this country. We are taught to look at our police officers as helpful and friendly when we learn about ‘leaders’ in elementary school. Our ‘leaders’ have failed us today,” the actress wrote in a series of tweet on Monday. “I can’t begin to imagine the horror of worrying that you won’t be protected by your ‘leaders’ because of the color of your skin. I know that white privilege exists and I could never fully understand what it’s like to be oppressed because of my race. I don’t have all the right words, but I stand by you. #BlackLivesMatter.”
Reinhart was most recently romantically linked to her Riverdale co-star Cole Sprouse. In the series, Sprouse plays Jughead Jones, the love interest of Reinhart’s Betty. Reinhart and Sprouse reportedly had an on-again, off-again relationship for nearly three years before ultimately breaking up earlier this year before the coronavirus pandemic lockdown. A source told Page Six about the breakup, adding that the former lovers “have been quarantining separately” and “remain good friends.”
Production on season 5 of Riverdale hasn’t started yet but the new batch of episodes is set to premiere in January 2021.