People Magazine has named gay British actor Jonathan Bailey its Sexist Man Alive for 2025. He joins the ranks of other celebrities such as George Clooney, Chris Evans and Paul Rudd, who have also received the title.
“Obviously, I’m incredibly flattered. And it’s completely absurd,” Bailey told People with a laugh.
Bailey, 37 became known to many American audiences through his role as the dashing Viscount Anthony Bridgerton in the hit Netflix Regency romance series “Bridgerton,” and as a gay man navigating a secret love affair during the McCarthy era in Showtime’s political thriller “Fellow Travelers.”
Bailey’s varied career spans theatre, television and film. He started out as a child actor in England after joining the Royal Shakespeare Company at age seven, and has since appeared in major stage productions including Les Misérables, Othello and Company. His performance in Company earned him a Laurence Olivier award in 2019.
The actor also appeared in the 2025 American film “Jurassic World: Rebirth” and Brit TV series such as “Broadchurch” and “Crashing,” but his role as the idealistic and closeted assistant to Senator Joe McCarthy in “Fellow Travelers’ is likely the one that resonates most with LGBTQ+ viewers. The series also stars gay actor Matt Bomer and received mostly positive reviews for its portrayal of two gay men dealing with secrecy, fear and internal conflict in the ultra-conservative 1950s. Bomer and Bailey were both nominated for Emmys for their performances.
Bailey is very active in LGBTQ+ political and philanthropic causes, and he started a charity called the Shameless Fund in 2024.
In September he told Time magazine “I just felt so strongly about the elder members of the community, many of whom are much more likely to be single, less likely to have children, and they’re going into care homes and [dealing with] homophobia. Having to go back in the closet. The first five grants we’ve given, two are going to charities that look after elderly LGBTQ+ members. We have to look after them because they fought so hard.”
On its website the Shameless Fund says “Around the world, anti-LGBTQ+ laws are on the rise. We’re raising funds through global brand partnerships to support international, national, and grassroots nonprofits, with the goal of creating a world where every LGBTQ+ person can live authentically, love freely, and thrive without discrimination, oppression, or shame.”