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Blake Lee's Favorite Cruel Summer Scene Has Nothing to Do With His Character

In an exclusive chat with E! News, Blake Lee opened up about his favorite Cruel Summer scene and his plans for LGBTQ+ Pride month.

By Alyssa Ray Jun 05, 2021 4:00 PMTags
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Moved to tears.

That's how Cruel Summer star Blake Lee, who made history alongside husband Ben Lewis by starring in Lifetime's first queer Christmas film, The Christmas Setup, felt watching the gay love story unfold on the Freeform hit. For those unfamiliar with the show, the teen thriller offered up a tender moment in episode three when they had closeted teen couple Vince (Allius Barnes) and Ben (Nathaniel Ashton) share a moment at a secret gay bar.

"The producers showed us the clip where they go to the gay bar and they dance together," Blake told E! News. "And they showed it to us when we were shooting in Texas still and all of us were crying. One, I mean, I think it's so important for queer characters to be on TV, period. But I think to show characters in the '90s, in Texas, in a small town, like, that would've been so hard to be gay."

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As he continued, Blake applauded his co-stars for doing "such a good job" with the scene. "It's just such an honest, sweet depiction of these two men that fall in love," he added. "And it's really, really beautiful. And I think that the writers did a great job at showing that."

In fact, as the 37-year-old actor shared with E! News, this scene is one of his favorites in the entire season. Why? Well, he explained, "To see yourself represented I think is the most important thing, and I think that this show is doing a good job at showing an honest, real, gay love story."

With E! News celebrating LGBTQ+ Pride month throughout June, we made sure to ask Blake how he intends to celebrate. His answer: A safe, outdoor celebration with friends.

"My husband and I have an incredible group of friends and every year we, except last year, have gone to the Pride parade in West Hollywood," he dished. "We're such huge fans. We definitely will get together in some sort of outside, safe way. All vaccinated, of course."

For how other stars celebrated LGBTQ+ Pride month, click here.

Cruel Summer airs 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT Tuesdays on Freeform.

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