Is Joe Keery Gay? Know More about His Life!

Are you a fan of Netflix’s Stranger Things? Then, you must have noticed Joe Keery, who plays the role of Steve Harrington in the series.

The actor’s charming personality and good looks have won many hearts across the globe. But there has been speculation about his sexual orientation.

Is Joe Keery gay? The question has trailed Joe Keery for years, and it picked up fresh steam in late 2025.

Let me save you the scroll: Keery has never publicly put a label on his sexuality. The speculation around him comes almost entirely from fans and from one playful interview moment. He has confirmed none of it.

Here is what actually happened, what he has said, and the fuller picture of his life and career.

In this blog post, we will get into his personal life to find out more about the talented actor and set the record straight once and for all!

So buckle up and keep reading to get all your questions answered!

The interview that set fans off

While promoting the fifth and final season of Stranger Things in London in November 2025, Keery sat for a lighthearted radio segment about childhood crushes on fictional characters.

Asked who his was, he named both the fox version of Robin Hood and Maid Marian from the Disney cartoon. When his co-stars pushed him to pick one, he answered, “Both of them.” He went on to confess a childhood crush on Lola Bunny from Space Jam as well.

Within a day, X and TikTok had decided Keery had “soft-launched” his bisexuality between two cartoon foxes.

Keery has said nothing to confirm that reading. The likeliest explanation is the simplest one: actor cracking a joke on the radio.

What Joe Keery actually did

Keery keeps his private life private, and he has never described himself as gay, straight, or bisexual in public.

On his 2025 Another Bite Tour, performing as his musical alter ego Djo, he partnered with The Ally Coalition – the nonprofit founded by producer Jack Antonoff and his sister Rachel Antonoff — and donated a dollar from every ticket sold to support LGBTQ+ youth.

This keeps happening to Stranger Things actors

Stranger Things has spent a decade cultivating one of the most openly queer-friendly fandoms on television, and that fandom has turned reading-the-cast into a sport.

Noah Schnapp, who plays Will Byers, came out as gay in real life. Will’s arc became canonically queer.

The “Steddie” universe, pairing Keery’s Steve Harrington with Joseph Quinn’s Eddie Munson, produced a mountain of fan fiction and edits that, at a glance, can look like evidence to someone scrolling fast.

Also read: Is Maya Hawke gay? Another Stranger Things star with questionable sexuality!

His relationships

Keery’s one publicly confirmed relationship was with actress Maika Monroe, the lead of the horror film It Follows.

They met in 2017, made their red-carpet debut at the Stranger Things season two premiere that October, and stayed together for about five years while keeping most of it offstage.

They split in 2022. Keery addressed it only later, telling Variety in 2024 that the timing was hard, since “I had also gone through a big breakup” right as he left a film shoot in Rome and headed into months of isolated work on Fargo.

Since then Keery has stayed single in public, give or take the occasional rumor. He was pulled onstage and mock-“arrested” by Sabrina Carpenter during her tour in late 2025, which kicked off a brief round of speculation, and his name turns up now and then in dating gossip.

Asked by Elle what draws him to someone, he kept it plain, saying he likes it when “somebody’s quick-witted.”

Public curiosity around celebrities often goes far beyond what they choose to share. In today’s social media-driven culture, fans frequently turn to online tools and platforms to look for clues about a public figure’s personal life, whether those clues actually exist or not. Search trends, speculation forums, and sometimes even an onlyfans search, even when there is no real connection to the person in question.

Joe Keery’s Life and Career

Joe Keery is best known for his role as Steve Harrington in the hit Netflix series, “Stranger Things.” He has gained immense popularity for his portrayal of a character who started as a stereotypical high school bully but later evolved into a lovable hero. His on-screen charisma and personality have won him a massive fan base.

Joe Keery was born on April 24, 1992, in Newburyport, Massachusetts. He grew up in a family of five, with two sisters, and his parents were supportive of his creative endeavors from an early age.

Keery attended The Theatre School at DePaul University in Chicago, where he earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Acting. After graduation, he moved to Los Angeles to pursue his acting career, and he landed his breakout role in “Stranger Things” in 2016.

His success on “Stranger Things” has led to a range of other acting opportunities. He has appeared in several films, including “Molly’s Game” and “Free Guy,” and he has also been cast in upcoming projects like “Spree” and “The Afterparty.”

If you only know Keery from Hawkins, you’re missing half the résumé. Under the name Djo, he’s built a music career that briefly eclipsed his acting.

Keery makes music under the name Djo, and for a stretch in 2024 that project outshone even Stranger Things. His track “End of Beginning,” tucked onto his 2022 album Decide, took off on TikTok and became the sixth most-streamed song in the world in 2024, climbing to the top of the global Spotify chart ahead of Taylor Swift. The song found a second life after the series wrapped, returning to number one on the UK singles chart in January 2026.

He followed it with The Crux in April 2025, recorded at New York’s Electric Lady Studios, and surprise-released a companion album, The Crux Deluxe, that September. He played the title role in Tame Impala’s “Loser” video and rejoined his old band Post Animal for touring. Reflecting on the end of Stranger Things, he told Billboard, “All good things must end.”

Despite his growing fame, Joe Keery has remained relatively private about his personal life. However, in a 2017 interview with GQ, Keery did discuss his upbringing and how it has influenced his career.

“I think the way I grew up, it was like, you’re going to college and you’re getting a job,” he said. “And then when I said I wanted to go to acting school, it was like, ‘Oh, well, that’s not a job.’ But then I got to the point where I was like, ‘No, this is what I want to do.’ And then I think they came around to it.”

This quote reveals little about Joe Keery’s personal life, but it does suggest that he comes from a supportive family who has encouraged him to pursue his passions. It also highlights his determination to succeed as an actor, despite any obstacles he may have faced along the way.

In addition to his acting and music careers, Joe has also been involved in various charitable causes. In 2017, he participated in a fundraising event for the Alzheimer’s Association, and he has also supported organizations like St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.

Keery’s commitment to giving back to his community demonstrates that he is not only a talented actor and musician but also a caring and compassionate individual.

Joe Keery’s Net Worth in 2026

Estimates put Keery’s net worth at around $4 million as of 2026, with some figures climbing closer to $5 million once recent music earnings are counted.

He reportedly made about $750,000 per episode in the show’s final season. His money comes in on two tracks at once, acting and music, which has kept his finances on a steady climb.

Keery’s earnings increased significantly after the early seasons of the show, as cast salaries rose in response to its global success. In addition to base pay, long-term exposure from the series has opened doors to higher-profile film roles, brand opportunities, and music sales.

Unlike many actors who rely on a single income stream, Keery benefits from maintaining parallel careers in acting and music, which helps stabilize and grow his overall net worth.

Conclusion

There is no evidence to support rumors that Joe Keery is gay, and it is ultimately up to him to disclose his sexual orientation if and when he chooses to do so.

However, his impressive acting and music careers, coupled with his commitment to charitable causes, suggest that he is a talented and compassionate individual who has a bright future ahead of him.

In any case, this shouldn’t take away from his accomplishments as an artist and entertainer, whether he identifies as gay or not!