It’s a long haul between seasons for Pretty Little Liars fans, so when Shay Mitchell gives a sweet interview during the hiatus to Teen Vogue, in which she mentions playing gay, we can’t get enough.
25-year-old Shay, who plays Rosewood’s hottest lesbian who gets all the ladies Emily Fields on ABC Family’s breakout twisty-turny mystery, reiterated to the teen mag that playing gay was never even a question for her. When asked if she had any trepidation about stepping into Emily’s boots Shay replied, “I didn't have to think twice. I have a lot of friends who are gay; my aunt had a girlfriend. It's just normal.”
The Canadian native, who got her start modeling, went on to say that the fans reaction to her portrayal of Emily has been amazing, despite the fact that Shay is not the freckled, strawberry blonde described in Sara Shepard’s Pretty Little Liars books.
“I'm not playing the gothic chick dressed in all black who eats lunch in the corner and is a lesbian,” Shay said. “If you look at the poster, you wouldn't necessarily be able to pinpoint which one of us is the lesbian, and that was really important to me.”
The Teen Vogue interviewer deduced from Shay’s comments that she wouldn’t mind then if “Shay Mitchell gay” were the first thing to come up when her name was Googled, and Shay agreed.
The actress, who is also deeply committed to working with the Somaly Mam Foundation that works to stop the sex slave industry, said that she’s often asked if she’s gay but that she doesn’t feel the need to answer because “it doesn’t matter.”
Shay did say though that she’s moved by fans who thank her for her portrayal.
“It's one thing to entertain people, but it's something else to actually have a small impact on their life in a positive way, and that's why it's important for me to meet my fans,” Shay told Teen Vogue.
