Watch: Remember When Nick Jonas Played a Gay Boxer on TV (and had a Controversial Threesome)?
After breaking out as a Disney star with his boy band The Jonas Brothers, Nick Jonas seemed to be looking for a role to separate himself from his family-friendly past. One of those parts came with the DirectTV streaming series "Kingdom," starring Frank Grillo as the owner of a mixed martial arts gym who trains a generation of young athletes, including his sons Jay (Jonathan Tucker) and Nate (Jonas).
In "Kingdom," which aired for three seasons between 2014 and 2017, Jonas' Nate is the youngest brother who faces a setback with his fighting career after being involved in an attack. On top of that, he struggles with being a closeted gay man.
As he was taking on a gay character in "Kingdom," Jonas played gay in another role — this time it was for Ryan Murphy's short-lived Fox dramedy "Scream Queens." He played Boone Clemens, an out frat boy. And around the same time, Jonas was also releasing new solo music utilizing a more mature sound and sexier imagery.
It didn't take long before he was accused of gay-baiting fans.
Speaking with Complex magazine at the time, Jonas addressed the accusations that he was playing gay characters to further his career.
"There's always going to be negativity toward anything that is a positive effort toward change," Jonas said at the time. "As a heterosexual male, [I am] open and comfortable about loving my fan base, gay or straight, because to me there is no difference, it is my fan base."
"Your sexual preference does not matter to me and it shouldn't matter to anybody. I thought [the criticism] was kind of dumb, considering I play this gay character on a gritty show. There's a gay sex scene. I kissed a man," he went on to say. "The goal is acceptance on all levels — that should be the focus. I've gone to normal clubs, straight clubs, and I've gone to gay clubs, to party with my friends and fans. There's no difference."
"I have nothing to prove. I'm very comfortable in my own skin and I'm thankful to have as many close gay friends as I have, people who have been so supportive in my life, and have always been there for me," he added.
Things got more complicated when, on "Kingdom," Jonas' character finally had a same-sex sex scene — a bisexual threesome that occurs after Nate is drugged. At the time, fans and viewers took to social media to express their outrage.
Since "Kingdom" ended, Jonas went on to star in the "Jumanji" reboot franchise and released a new album "Spaceman" last year. In his personal life, he married actress Priyanka Chopra in 2018 and welcomed a baby with her earlier this year.