Dylan O’Brien’s sibling responded to statements the actor had previously made about them.
For context, The Maze Runner and Teen Wolf actor plays a pimp in the movie Ponyboi, which is about an intersex sex worker. Though the movie was filmed in late 2022, it’s set to be released in the US later this year.
This is why, on May 1, Gay Times ran a story with the headline, “Dylan O’Brien says he’s ‘so grateful’ for his trans non-binary sibling.”
The quotes themselves are from a Vulture interview last January, where Dylan said, “I have a trans, nonbinary sibling and I know people in my personal life as well who are queer, and I am so grateful for how much it deepens my experience in this world.”
So, the article itself is more about the movie, but the headline, caption, and image posted on Instagram were all about Dylan’s sibling, Julz — implying that Dylan had said this recently. The caption reads, “O’Brien’s sibling, Julz O’Brien, is non-binary and uses they/them pronouns. On Instagram, Julz frequently shares family photos—including with O’Brien, whom they’ve described as their ‘very first best friend’—and often expresses pride in being part of the LGBTQIA+ community.”
Julz then took to the comments to write, “Kinda funny that this article didn’t ask me a single thing about myself? It’s about me and uses my photo. I’m not even tagged.”
He further clarified that he is transmasculine:
Julz then “liked” a comment calling out Dylan’s girlfriend, Rachael Lange, who has previously faced controversy for using anti-gay and anti-Black slurs online. In a response comment, they alleged of Dylan, “He also hasn’t spoken to me in over a year. He didn’t check in when I had top surgery. He didn’t even wish me a happy bday last week! But glad I could deepen his experience in this world and make the world love him that much more 😏.”
BuzzFeed has reached out to a representative for Dylan for comment.
