Cara Delevingne declares her 'sexuality is not a phase'

NEW YORK, July 17 (UPI) -- Cara Delevingne says her sexuality is not a phase.

The 22-year-old English model and actress declared as much in an interview with the New York Times after Vogue writer Rob Haskell suggested Delevingne's relationships with women may be such in the magazine's July issue.

Delevingne opened up about her bisexuality and girlfriend Annie Clark, aka St. Vincent, in the article, and Haskell was criticized for his remarks after the story was published. LGBT activists subsequently started a petition, which has earned over 21,000 signatures, demanding Vogue Editor in Chief Anna Wintour apologize.

The star told the New York Times she was "flattered" by the outcry, but said she saw "nothing malicious" in Haskell's intent. She did clearly assert, "My sexuality is not a phase. I am who I am," before comparing her love for Clark with her love for acting.

"Being in love helps, you know?" she said of life's distractions. "If you're in love with someone, you can be with them like no one else is in the room. Acting is like that. It's like taking that feeling and turning it on so nothing else matters when you're looking in another actor's face."

Delevingne will next appear in an adaptation of the John Green novel Paper Towns with Nat Wolff, and is scheduled for a number of other upcoming projects. She will star in London Fields with Amber Heard, Suicide Squad with Jared Leto and Kids in Love with Will Poulter.