Is 'Snowpiercer' actor Rowan Blanchard gay? Disney star received a rude jolt when she revealed her sexuality
Rowan Blanchard, 19, is getting ready to play the lead role of 17-year-old Alexandra Cavill, daughter of Melanie Cavill (Jennifer Connelly), in the post-apocalyptic world of TNT's 'Snowpiercer'. On the show, Melanie thought her daughter Alexandra was dead, just like the mysterious Mr. Wilford (Sean Bean), who she had left behind to die.
But at end of Season 1, Wilford was back on the Snowpiercer with Blanchard's Alexandra Cavill in tow and he will obviously be using her as a pawn as he gets his revenge on Melanie and tries to pry back the control of the Snowpiercer from the hands of the Tailies exhausted from their battle for freedom and equality.
The TV series is set in a world where climate change has devastated the planet and there is a perpetual winter is Blanchard's first 'grown-up' role. It also seems to be more aligned to her beliefs from feminism to racial equality to LGBTQA+ rights -- just some of the things she has explored since she was a pre-teen and a Disney star playing the do-gooder Riley in 'Girl Meets World', the reboot of 'Boy Meets World', which had Ben Savage (who originated the lead role of Cory Matthews) as her father.
But the early fame and living online like most of her generation does also means that she has been drawn into controversy simply for being honest. Back in January 2016, Blanchard opened up online via Twitter about her sexuality. "I personally don't wanna label myself as straight, gay or whateva," she wrote in a now-deleted tweet. "So I am not gonna give myself labels to stick with — just existing."
In the tweet thread, she told her followers that though she's only ever liked boys in the past, she doesn't want to discount the very real possibility that she could, at one point, be attracted to another gender. "Yes, [I'm] open to liking any gender in future is why I identify as queer," she wrote. While she was hailed by most media outlets as a "queer, feminist icon", there was tremendous backlash online.
Shortly following her announcement, she spoke in an interview about the online ordeal. She had received responses that ranged from borderline homophobic to just wrong. After the initial shock, Blanchard said she came to terms with it. “I’m okay with it now, but I still realize that I was allowing people to comment on something that’s very personal,” she said. “The first day I tweeted about it, it was definitely scary to see people commenting about things that literally have nothing to do with them.”
In 2017, she reiterated in another interview that she was "queer", saying that she had been criticized by older people who said she was appropriating a term and that it was a slur. Explaining her reluctance to identify as 'straight' or 'gay', she said: "I just don’t understand why you’re straight or gay,” she said. “I don’t understand why you want me to be one of two things. What is the driving force behind binaries?" She added, "I want to be in a bizarre realm where people are proposing ideas that have never been put into place."
As far as her actual dating record goes, she reportedly dated her co-star 'Girl meets World' co-star Peyton Meyer, very briefly in 2015. She is also now rumored to be dating Owen Lang, who she reportedly started seeing in 2018 but there is no confirmation of this.
Lang posted a picture of Blanchard posing on his Instagram with the comments "little miss eighteen the world will never be the same can't wait to celebrate," to which Blanchard replied with a "Love you". Lang had earlier posted on his account with: "Update 🤚 I’m still gay" and is vocal about trans rights on his Instagram page. Lang's 'Influencer' profile reads: "I am a fashion and lifestyle blogger in New York City. I love food, clothes, art, photography, and having fun!"