Jonathan Bailey is shrugging off speculation surrounding his tactile relationship with his co-star Scarlett Johansson.
The Jurassic World Rebirth actors turned heads earlier this month when they shared a kiss on the lips while attending the world premiere of their new film, which opens in cinemas next week, in London.
On Monday, they then smooched again while walking the red carpet at the film鈥檚 New York premiere.
Images of the two kisses drew heated chatter online, with many pointing out Jonathan is gay and that Scarlett has been married to actor-comedian Colin Jost since 2020.
Speaking to Entertainment Tonight on Monday, however, Jonathan offered a straightforward 鈥 and perfectly relatable 鈥 explanation.
鈥淚 believe in being able to show love in all different ways,鈥 he said. 鈥淎nd if you can鈥檛 kiss your friends… life鈥檚 too short not to.鈥
Scarlett, similarly, brushed aside the discourse in a Monday interview with Access Hollywood.
鈥淧eople are really … they got some time,鈥 she quipped.
Jurassic World Rebirth comes amid a busy year for Jonathan, who endeared himself to legions of fans as Lord Anthony Bridgerton on Netflix鈥檚 steamy period drama Bridgerton.
The Olivier winner returned to the London stage to great acclaim this spring in a production of Shakespeare鈥檚 Richard II. He鈥檒l reprise the role of Fiyero in the second half of the film adaptation of the musical Wicked in November.
Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter in an interview published last week, Jonathan opened up about feeling 鈥渢he weight of history鈥 as a gay man in Hollywood.
鈥淵ou have to unlearn a lot of narratives about yourself that an industry tells you. If you鈥檙e gay, there鈥檚 a glass ceiling,鈥 he explained.
鈥淏eing an out gay actor, historically, meant that you wouldn鈥檛 be able to play straight and there weren鈥檛 any gay parts to play, anyway. That鈥檚 obviously changed, massively.鈥
He went on to note: 鈥淎ny sort of sense of prejudice against sexuality is something to fight against, and what better way to do that than to go and play any kind of character.鈥