The 'Gossip Girl' star opens up about why he delayed getting his COVID-19 vaccine.
Thomas Doherty contracted COVID-19 just before his scheduled vaccination against the virus. In an interview with Variety, the 26-year-old star of the Gossip Girl reboot revealed his positive test, which came in July.
According to the actor, he put off getting the vaccine after hearing about the side affects that others experienced, something that was a concern for him due to his nonstop shooting schedule for the HBO Max series.
The positive test came days before his scheduled in-person interview and photo shoot for the Variety feature, after which he was scheduled to get vaccinated.
"I was to go to coffee with you, and then straight after, at 6 o’clock, I was meant to get vaccinated," Doherty says. "We booked it. And then I got COVID."
The outlet notes that on the Zoom call with Doherty that was scheduled amid his quarantine, the Scottish actor had groggy eyes, a hoarse voice and a throaty cough. Doherty adds that he briefly lost his sense of taste and smell amid his COVID-19 battle.
"It’s mild, fortunately," Doherty says. "I actually feel OK now."
Two weeks after initially testing positive, Doherty was cleared with two negative COVID tests and ready to get back to work filming Gossip Girl, which is still shooting its first season at the same time that it airs on HBO Max.
Doherty stars as Max Wolfe in the series, a pansexual teen with many sexual partners. Playing Max, Doherty says, further proved his long-held belief that sexuality is a spectrum.
"Playing Max, a pansexual character, was incredibly liberating. It was very educational, and it definitely made me challenge my own preconceived notions, my indoctrination, of 'This is who you love, this is what you do, everything else is wrong,'" he says, before explaining why he feels sexuality labels are "very limiting."
"I think as I get older and experience life a little bit more, you constantly evolve and you’re constantly growing," he says. "I feel like labels limit you. They’re almost walls to your growth."
The first six episodes of Gossip Girl are now streaming on HBO Max. The series will return for the second half of its freshman season in November.
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