Super Junior member Heechul recently addressed questions about his gender orientation on the Feb. 11 broadcast of JTBC's "Ask Us Anything." The idol's gender was one again brought to light after one netizen talked about in a chat room.
A netizen wrote that there's a top idol who has finally realized his gender identity, Soompi reported. The idol is described as someone who is recently frequenting variety programs. It was also said that this idol was confused about his orientation when he realized that even though he close to girl groups, he doesn't have any romantic feelings about them.
The description is really close to Heechul. He currently appears on four variety shows: "Singderella," "Lipstick Prince," "Secretly Greatly" and "Game Show." Also he's very close to members of idol groups, particularly Sulli and Taeyeon.
Heechul was shocked when he found out that the person referred to in the post was really him. Super Junior member Leeteuk, who was also on the show, commented that they've been asking Heechul the same question, making Heechul feel betrayed than even his group mates would question his gender and laughed about the matter.
This isn't the first time Heechul's gender orientation has been questioned. In a 2010 broadcast of MBC's "Radio Star," Kim Gura said he heard rumors about Heechul being gay and wanted to verify it personally. According to allkpop, Heechul commented, "Macho men with beards usually really like me. Despite being an idol, I really like girls. You'll see later when I get married." Kim Gura agreed, saying Heechul's femininity is probably just a disguise.
Among members of Super Junior, Heechul is the one who's most confident and most accustomed to impersonating or portraying female personalities. In 2011, the singer wowed fans when he came out on stage dressed as Lady Gaga. Even the Grammy awardee praised Heechul, saying he looks "amazing!"