Troye Sivan slams gay interviewer who asked him “top or bottom?”
The singer called the question 'invasive, strange, and inappropriate'
Singer and actor Troye Sivan has slammed a New Zealand LGBTQ magazine for asking him about his sexual preference during an interview.
Sivan was giving an interview to New Zealand LGBTQ magazine Express when the interviewer — who is gay — offered a series of rapid-fire questions.
After the usual “Apple or Samsung” and “Do you like Trump” questions, Sivan was asked “Top or bottom?”
“Ooo… definitely passing!” he responded.
Following publication, some on Twitter started questioning the validity of asking Sivan about his preferred sexual position, and the singer stepped in to agree.
“I thought about asking the interviewer about his absolute fave sex position after that last question,” Sivan tweeted, “but then I remembered how wildly invasive, strange and innapropriate [sic] that would be. Didn’t stop him though!”
He added: “Next time I’ll just do a Twitter q&a.”
I thought about asking the interviewer about his absolute fave sex position after that last question, but then i remembered how wildly invasive, strange and innapropriate that would be. Didn’t stop him though! https://t.co/mo80DziQrH
— troye (@troyesivan) August 28, 2019
The South African-Australian artist then turned his attention to Out Magazine, after the LGBTQ publication’s editors called it “hypocritical” of Sivan to complain about the line of questioning.
“[Express reporter Matt] Fistonich could have phrased his questions better — he also asked Sivan if boyfriend Jacob Bixenman would give him a ‘hall pass’ for celebrity crush Shawn Mendes — but it’s a bit hypocritical for Sivan to act as if talking about his sex life is taboo when he wrote a whole ass album about bottoming,” Out‘s editors wrote.
They were specifically referencing Sivan’s 2018 album Bloom, whose title track was promoted on Twitter with the hashtag “#BopsBoutBottoming” and features lyrics that have been widely interpreted as references to bottoming.
“So it was fine to tweet inflammatory things about sex when there’s an album to promote, but now it’s inappropriate,” Out‘s editors wrote.
Sivan clapped back in a series of tweets, calling it “disappointing” that Out “was the only one to miss the mark so much on the reporting of this.”
“Firstly, Bloom is an album about love,” Sivan tweeted. “I said that in every single interview I did about the album. Suggesting that I made the entire album about bottoming is over sexualising me + my work, and is reductive.
“I speak about sex in my music on my terms, when I’m in control, and writing music that is going to be close to my heart forever. That does not open the flood gates + give anyone a pass on basic manners and allow them to ask about the ins and outs of what I do in bed.
“I highly doubt anyone would ask any of my straight peers explicit questions about who does what to who in their relationship, no matter the content of their music. I don’t think artists should have to expect to be asked about that when they show up to work in the morning.”
Sivan ended by saying there’s “no shame in anal sex or any kind of sex,” but he doesn’t “want to talk about it over the phone to a complete stranger.”
Firstly, Bloom is an album about love. I said that in every single interview i did about the album. Suggesting that i made the entire album about bottoming is over sexualising me + my work, and is reductive
— troye (@troyesivan) August 29, 2019
I highly doubt anyone would ask any of my straight peers explicit questions about who does what to who in their relationship, no matter the content of their music. I don’t think artists should have to expect to be asked about that when they show up to work in the morning
— troye (@troyesivan) August 29, 2019
.@outmagazine i love you guys and all the work you do, just didn’t feel like this was a fair take on this. Okayyyyyyy I’m done n never talking about this again bc my parents read this stuff and i feel weird. love to all
— troye (@troyesivan) August 29, 2019
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