Young Sheldon’s Iain Armitage made a rare comment about his dating life while addressing rumors surrounding his sexuality.
In Jessica Radloff‘s tell-all book Young Sheldon: The (Juicier-Than-Meemaw’s-Brisket) Inside Story of the Hit Comedy, which is out now, Armitage, now 18, weighed in on public interest into his personal life after his days playing a younger Sheldon Cooper from The Big Bang Theory.
“As it is, in real life I’ve also gotten everything from people thinking I’m dating specific people, like Mckenna [Grace], or people thinking I’m gay,” he told Radloff. “Sometimes people will come up to me in public and be like, ‘Yo, you gay?’ or ‘Man, you dating anyone?’”
Armitage said he had “a whole myriad of stuff to respond with,” adding, “It depends on the person and what they’re saying, but if it’s a guy asking if I’m gay, I’ll say, ‘Not for you.’ Or ‘I haven’t found the right guy yet.’”
He continued: “People will say, ‘Yo, man, do you get a lot of girls? Do you have a girlfriend?’ and I’ll say something funny to make someone laugh and divert the conversation. Or, ‘That’s private, dude, don’t ask that.’”
Armitage has had a similar reaction when asked “how much money” he has made. The child star skyrocketed to fame when he was cast in Young Sheldon, which served as a prequel to The Big Bang Theory. Following Jim Parson’s character, Young Sheldon focused on Sheldon’s life as a child prodigy growing up in Texas.
“I’m lucky in a few ways. Because I started doing this when I was so young, I have a lot of people that will come to me and tell me, ‘You look so different.’ It’s kind of interesting to think that if I start another project and do something completely different, it’s a nice opportunity to differentiate myself in some way,” Armitage explained to Us in March. “But that’s not even really my goal. I’m really proud of the work I did on Young Sheldon. I loved it.”
Iain Armitage as Sheldon Bill Inoshita / 2024 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.
He added: “It was a super fun seven years. I am not running from it in the slightest. I would love to appear on Georgie and Mandy but for now just the fact that I can switch up and do something totally different is awesome and really fun.”
Elsewhere in Radloff’s book, Armitage addressed claims he was “difficult” on set.
The Big Bang Theory premiered nearly two decades ago — and the TV universe has only grown with three spinoffs (and counting)! The sitcom inspired a franchise when The Big Bang Theory aired from 2007 to 2019. It starred Jim Parsons, Kaley Cuoco, Johnny Galecki, Simon Helberg, Kunal Nayyar, Mayim Bialik and Melissa Rauch as […]
“It was a complete privilege to be on this show and play this character, but yes, it was a big undertaking for an 8-year-old,” he said. “I always did the best that I could, and sometimes kids are not perfect. I was grateful to the people who understood that and gave me grace.”
Armitage’s costar Annie Potts, meanwhile, shared her perspective after working with him as a child.
“Here’s the thing . . . we were all working for Iain. We were all serving him. The characters were meant to serve his journey, so that is a lot for a little person to manage psychologically. He was asked to work and carry the weight of something that would be difficult for an adult, and we know that a lot of behavior comes out in situations like that,” she explained. “Yes, sometimes he was difficult. But I’ve worked with grown-ups who were a lot worse. Sometimes I think he was tired, and sometimes I think he pushed people, and people were kissing his ass! It’s a very challenging situation to be 9 years old and be expected to work, behave, and think like a grown-up. And I say that with absolute love and respect.”
Young Sheldon: The (Juicier-Than-Meemaw’s-Brisket) Inside Story of the Hit Comedy is out now.
