Darren Criss used the phrase “culturally queer” while discussing his role as Blaine Anderson on Glee at a Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo panel in April 2024. He connected the phrase to growing up in San Francisco, the queer culture that shaped what he admired, and his familiarity with gay life—not to a declaration that he is LGBTQ+. Criss has been described in coverage as a straight, cisgender man, and he has also said that cultural familiarity does not make him an authority on the gay experience.
What Darren Criss said at C2E2
The remark came during a discussion of Glee, where Criss played Blaine Anderson, a gay character in a relationship shown on mainstream television. He called the experience “fucking awesome” and reflected on how queer culture had influenced him. Vanity Fair reported that the panel took place on April 27, 2024; it published its account on May 1. CNN Newsource published a syndicated account on April 30. (Vanity Fair; CNN Newsource)
Vanity Fair quoted Criss saying, “I have been so culturally queer my whole life.” In CNN Newsource’s account, he described growing up with “an awareness of the gay experience that was not a foreign concept to me.” The phrase was part of a longer reflection on queer cultural influences he admired and wanted to learn from, rather than a claim of a new sexual orientation or gender identity.
The available coverage reports what Criss said at the panel, but the full panel recording was not available for independent transcript verification. The quotations here are therefore attributed to the reporting.
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What Criss meant by “culturally queer”
His San Francisco upbringing and queer cultural influences
Criss linked his familiarity to growing up in San Francisco in the 1990s. He referred to having watched men die in the context of the AIDS crisis and his upbringing, and described queer culture as central to things he admired and sought to emulate. Vanity Fair quoted him saying, “These are people that I idolize, that I want to learn something from.” (Vanity Fair)
CNN Newsource explains the phrase by citing the Queerspawn Resource Project’s description of immersion in queer culture, and also cites PFLAG on allies. Those are attributed explanations, not a single settled definition. The phrase should be understood here as Criss’s description of his cultural relationship and familiarity—not as evidence that he identified himself as LGBTQ+. (CNN Newsource)
Familiarity is not the same as lived identity
Criss has also drawn a boundary around what his background means. In a separate iHeart podcast conversation about playing Blaine, he said his familiarity did not make him an authority on the gay experience or uniquely entitled to the role. He described it as a source of comfort and understanding while acknowledging that there was more to learn and navigate. (iHeart)
That distinction matters: cultural influence and empathy can shape how someone relates to a community without making that person’s experience equivalent to the lived experience of queer people. Reporting describes Criss as straight and cisgender; his words at C2E2 do not establish otherwise.
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Why the phrase prompted different readings
Coverage did not frame the phrase in just one way. Pride presented Criss’s familiarity and empathy in a broadly affirming light. The Independent questioned whether describing cultural affinity as “cultural queerness” risks blurring the difference between participation in queer culture and lived queer identity. It also discussed the historical importance of shared gay culture as a way for people to find connection. These are distinct interpretations, not evidence of a single universal queer response. (Pride; The Independent)
The disagreement is best understood by keeping three ideas separate: cultural influence and familiarity; personal identity and lived experience; and the responsibilities involved when an actor portrays a queer character. Criss’s phrase speaks to the first. It does not, by itself, settle the second or answer every debate about the third.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Criss’s comments on playing queer characters
Criss’s C2E2 remarks returned to the experience of playing Blaine on a widely watched network show. CNN Newsource reported him saying, “Nowadays, we just call it a relationship on TV.” The line reflects the visibility of a same-sex relationship in a mainstream series, but it does not make Criss’s own identity the subject of that portrayal. (CNN Newsource)
There is also a relevant career note: Vanity Fair reported that in 2018 Criss said he wanted to avoid taking gay roles from gay actors. That statement provides context for his thinking about representation; it should not be taken as proof that he never accepted another queer role afterward. (Vanity Fair)
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