On the 90 Day Fiance Season 9 Tell All Part 1, production made their best choice all season.

Two fan-favorites from Pillow Talk, Tim Malcolm and Kenneth Niedermeier, sat backstage and offered live commentary.

Unfortunately, some rude and frankly homophobic rumors have followed Tim since he first appeared on the show.

Tim is yet again clapping back while showing his gratitude to fans and supporters.

Having Tim Malcolm and Kenneth Niedermeier provide commentary was a smart move.

This real-time Pillow Talk offers a break and, frankly, gives editors more material with which to work.

This takes some of the pressure off of the cast on the stage. Even if Jibri seemed determined to be on the attack regardless.

Tim’s role on the Tell All also serves as a soft promo for his role in Veronica Rodriguez’s upcoming The Single Life journey.

But, if we are truly being honest about it, we all know that production also wanted to stir the pot.

“Accusations” that Tim is gay have followed him since he first appeared on the show. Casting him alongside Kenny, who is gay, was no accident.

On Sunday, August 14, Tim took to his Instagram Story to comment on the resurgence of weird speculation about his sexuality.

He shared a tweet that reads: “The amount of Gay Panic that Tim has unleashed by simply having style without being gay is kind of disturbing honestly.”

Tim not only shared the post, but added his own two cents, writing: “Facts.”

Obviously, gay panic is a loaded term with an ugly history.

While some very, very young people on the internet use it to refer to simple blushing or flirtation, that is not its meaning.

The term refers to a legal defense strategy in which murderers claim in court that they were justified in killing their victim because they were gay, bi, or trans.

That is not the intended meaning of the original tweet, or Tim’s sharing of the tweet.

Instead, they are simply referring to how deeply weird people are because of Tim’s personal sense of style.

He dresses in a certain way. Also, he styles himself thoughtfully. He even (gasp) takes care of his skin.

In our culture, toxic masculinity convinces many men that things that are good for them will make them weak. Or are simply embarrassing.

Skincare. Mental health. Having the occasional cry.

In many cases, any type of self-care not geared towards having sex with a woman is labeled effiminate or even “gay.”

The gay and bi communities are not immune to toxic masculinity (as countless accounts reposting Grindr chat screenshots demonstrate).

Similarly, there are straight men who express their feelings. There are straight men who dress and act like Tim Malcolm.

And what many people do not seem to understand is that “accusing” someone of being gay is homophobic. Yes, even if you say that you don’t mean it as an insult.

“When people tell you who they are, believe them,” doesn’t solely apply to proto-fascist politicians. It also applies to sexuality.

Somewhat recently, Jesse Meester ignored this addage.

Because he is dating Jeniffer Tarazona, Tim’s ex, Jesse took a cheap shot at Tim, implying that he is gay.

Jesse is not the first 90 Day Fiance cast member to have said as much about Tim.

Dean Hashim made some tasteless comments about Tim, even suggesting that he might be a trans man.

He expressed some almost sweetly naive ideas about what treatments are available to trans men (as if they might simply grow a full penis), but obviously was way off.

This feud actually had a happy ending.

Dean ended up apologizing and even publicly affirming his support for Tim against other weird speculation.

Lesson learned, one imagines.

It’s sad that people cannot be normal about things like gender and sexuality. Gay people already exist.

You don’t have to make up elaborate stories about the sexualities of strangers to entertain yourselves.

But Tim seems resigned to it now. And he’s being a relatively good sport, all things considered.

Tim Malcolm Gay Rumors: 90 Day Fiance Alum Fends Off Homophobic Speculation AGAIN was originally published on The Hollywood Gossip .