Category: Coming Out

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Colton Underwood Of ‘The Bachelor’ Comes Out In Emotional Interview

Colton Underwood of 'The Bachelor' comes out as gay

Colton Underwood of 'The Bachelor' comes out as gay Former ‘Bachelor’ star Colton Underwood came out as gay in an interview with Good Morning America’s Robin Roberts this morning. Underwood, who was a former pro football player prior to his time on ‘The Bachelor,’ said the past year of pandemic quarantine led to face some truths about himself. From GMA:

“I’ve ran from myself for a long time. I’ve hated myself for a long time,” Underwood told Roberts in a pre-taped chat. “And I’m gay. And I came to terms with that earlier this year and have been processing it. And the next step in all of this was sort of letting people know.”

“I’m still nervous, but yeah,” he continued. “It’s been a journey for sure.”

Underwood said he finally got to a place where he could be honest with himself after 2020, the year that turned everyone’s lives upside down, and made people “look at themselves in the mirror and figure out who they are and what they’ve been running from or what they’ve been putting off in their lives.”

When Roberts, who is also openly gay, said she could “see the joy” and “see the relief” in Underwood, he said he was “emotional in, like such a good, happy, positive way,” and is “the happiest and healthiest” he’s ever been.

The nervousness in Underwood’s voice is palpable as he gets to the words “I’m gay.” Having gone through my own coming out process years ago, I immediately felt that rush of nerves and emotion that happens for people in that moment. And then I tried to imagine being someone known by millions and handling such a personal life episode in such a public forum. Bachelor Nation, as the fandom of the franchise is called, first met Underwood when he was a contestant during the 14th season of “The Bachelorette” in 2018. He reappeared on the 4th season of “Bachelor in Paradise,” and was then the lead of season 23 of ‘The Bachelor’ were he was famously nicknamed the ‘Virgin Bachelor.’ “I fully was a virgin before that, and I could never give anybody a good enough answer about why I was a virgin,” says Underwood about  his “Virgin Bachelor” status during his time on the show. “The truth is I was the ‘Virgin Bachelor’ because I was gay, and I didn’t know how to handle it.”

Colton Underwood sits down with GMA's Robin Roberts
Colton Underwood sits down with GMA’s Robin Roberts
Since his time on the show, Underwood continued to give interviews saying ‘The Bachelor’ helped him realize that he was not gay after many in his life had questioned if he were gay since he was a football player and a virgin. Last year, he released his book The First Time: Finding Myself and Looking for Love on Reality TV where he shared having questioned his sexuality through his teen years, after relentless bullying from teammates. In the book,  he remembers searching online “Am I gay?” as far back as elementary school. Today, it seems Colton Underwood has moved past those personal demons. “I’m still the same Colton everybody met on TV. I’m still the same Colton to my friends and my family, I just happen to be able to share with people now all of me,” he tells Roberts. “And I am proud of that, you know? I am proud to be gay.”  

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Podcast: Captain America, Japan & Marriage Equality, The LGBTQ Tribe Takes The Call

The Randy Report podcast

The Randy Report podcast delivers the week's top stories in a quick, convenient podcast - 'the 60 Minutes of gay news - only shorter' In this week’s podcast: • Japan takes a baby step towards marriage equality • A transgender student won a large settlement in his discrimination lawsuit against a school district in Minnesota • A pharmacist came to the aid of LGBTQ seniors in Brooklyn • New polling shows strong support for the Equality Act • Marvel Comics has announced a gay Captain America on the way • And the LGBTQ tribe answers the call – link to Twitter thread here. All that and more in this episode of The Randy Report podcast

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TJ Osborne Exhales: ‘I Instantaneously Felt Like I Should Have Done This Long Ago’

TJ Osborne on The Ellen DeGeneres Show

TJ Osborne on The Ellen DeGeneres Show
Country music star TJ Osborne on The Ellen DeGeneres Show (screen capture)
Following his public coming out on Wednesday, TJ Osborne of the country duo The Brothers Osborne beamed into The Ellen DeGeneres Show to talk about his decision, and how he feels in the afterglow of the love and support he’s received. Describing the experience as a “very emotional day,” Osborne explained he had really only come out to a very few family and friends before yesterday.

“I was asked ‘why do you have to do this?’ and I wish I didn’t have to. I kind of told myself for a long time ‘if everything is equal here and it’s not that big of a deal then why do I have to come out?’ And unfortunately it just isn’t that way.”

“And I got to this point where I knew there was never going to be a perfect time and honestly, now that I’m kind of behind it now – with coming out – it’s so wild to me to think that about the perfect time is always now.”

Like many folks who finally take the very personal step to share this very intimate part of their life, Osborne shared, “I instantaneously felt like I should have done this a long time ago.”

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Country Music Star TJ Osborne Comes Out

Country music star TJ Osborne comes out as gay

Country music star TJ Osborne comes out as gay
TJ Osborne (image via Brothers Osborne/Facebook)
Since forming as a band in 2012, the Brothers Osborne have made a huge splash in the world of country music releasing seven country Top 40 singles and three studio albums. After scoring four CMA Awards and seven Grammy Award nominations, things have been going pretty great. But lead vocalist T.J. Osborne, 36, has grown weary of carrying a secret. So today, the country music star shared with his fans what his family and close friends have known for a long time. Today, TJ Osborne comes out as gay. From TIME Magazine:

In some respects, he says, coming out publicly is no big deal. “I’m very comfortable being gay,” he says later, in a quiet room at the office of his management company. “I find myself being guarded for not wanting to talk about something that I personally don’t have a problem with. That feels so strange.”

With this news, T.J. becomes the only openly gay artist signed to a major country label—a historic moment for the genre. He’s had predecessors, of course: Other openly queer artists, from Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Brandi Carlile to masked cowboy Orville Peck to viral hitmaker Lil Nas X, have found success by integrating country influences into their genre-defying music, and country artists including Chely Wright and Billy Gilman have passionate fanbases.

But T.J. may be the first to come out with his feet so firmly planted in both the sound and machinery of mainstream country, in the full bloom of his career.

“People will ask, ‘Why does this even need to be talked about?’ and personally, I agree with that,” he says. “But for me to show up at an awards show with a man would be jaw-dropping to people. It wouldn’t be like, ‘Oh, cool!”

While I celebrate Osborne finally living as his authentic self, the article reveals painful parts of his life – “It was so lonely and isolating.” He also shares one of his favorite songs, “21 Summer,” was actually written about an early heartbreak that he couldn’t discuss with anyone. And he was reminded of that everytime he sang the tune in concert. “There are so many times I’ve sung that song and wanted to cry,” he says. “People love that song, but the emotion of it is deeper than they even realize.” Make sure you read the full piece at TIME. In addition to being an uplifting moment in someone’s life, the article itself is artfully written. And you can find more of my coverage of coming out stories on The Randy Report here.

 

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Gay Ex-Mormon Recalls Life-Altering Decision To Lose ‘Magic Underwear’

Dr. Jake Jacob (image via Instagram)

Dr. Jake Jacob, an openly gay physician, recently reflected on social media about his process of severing ties with the Mormon Church specifically his decision to stop wearing his ‘temple garments.’

Posting a photo clad in just a white t-shirt and briefs, the beefy doc shared with his 278K Instagram followers that it has been 12 years since he decided to stop wearing the ‘magic underwear’ noting “it made no sense since I was having sex with men which is a mortal sin against the Mormon church’s teachings.”

But rather than a sad moment of reflection, Jacob recalls the decision as “life-altering physically, emotionally, and spiritually.”

“It was my last physical reminder, for good or bad, of my ties to childhood religion,” he continued. “It was liberating for my body to finally remove the oppressive clothing that insisted I always stay covered instead of celebrating the body God gave me.”

For the hunky 39-year-old, shedding the garments represented discarding unnecessary shame and self-loathing that he’d carried for years about who he was and a part of himself that he “can’t and shouldn’t change.”

“It was a necessary step in overcoming years of conversion therapy that taught me I was broken and somehow God was supposed to fix me if I was righteous enough, an ever-moving impossible goal post,” he added.

Jacob also recalled the feeling of “sliding into my sheets without any clothes the first night I felt freedom I’d never experienced before.”

Being able to choose how he presented his body to the world began “a journey of loving my own body, embracing my flaws, of actually looking in the mirror and choosing to like what I see without guilt or forced ‘humility’ which I now know was the quest for impossible constant perfection of body and mind.”

The result was the beginning of loving himself “for who I am independent of a higher power’s approval or acceptance of my peers.”

With good and bad days in the rearview mirror, Jacob’s focus now is on the gratitude he feels having journeyed towards self-acceptance.

“I’m grateful I took a chance stepping into the unknown discovering a life I never dreamed could be so fulfilling,” he writes in closing.

The good doctor offers more than just eye-candy on his social media, although he’s clearly built AF. Check out some other recent posts below and follow the body-conscious Jacob on Instagram here for more of his posts.

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News Round-Up: December 14, 2020

Alpine skier Hig Roberts (image via Instagram)
Some news items you might have missed: • NewNowNext: Alpine ski legend Hig Roberts (above) has come out as gay. “Not being able to be who I am and not be able to be openly gay as a professional athlete was truly hindering my performance,” the 29-year-old told The NY Times. • Instinct Magazine: The UK is loosening its restrictions for gay and bisexual men to donate blood – a bit. The National Health Service of the United Kingdom announced men who are sexually active in a relationship with a single male partner for the prior three months can now be considered for donation. • Pink News: Disgraced former influencer Milo Yiannopoulos has vowed to ‘burn the Republican Party to the ground’ after losing everything for ‘Daddy’ Trump. The gay ‘Straight Pride’ figurehead has vented about his life being “completely destroyed”, as Republicans struggle to accept the defeat of Donald Trump.
Milo Yiannopoulos (screen capture)
• Eonline: A new Guardians of the Galaxy comic story depicts the superhero Star-Lord, played by Chris Pratt in the Marvel movies, in a polyamorous, bisexual relationship. It’s unclear whether the character’s sexuality will be addressed in any Marvel movies, including the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 and Thor: Love and Thunder. • Vice: Pornhub is removing all videos on its site that weren’t uploaded by official content partners or members of its model program. Before the content purge on Sunday evening, the website hosted around 13.5 million videos, a large number of them from unverified accounts. On Monday morning as of 9 a.m., that number had dropped to only 4.7 million videos. • Boy Culture: Hillary Clinton was feeling good after voting as an elector in New York state for Joe Biden.

 

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US Olympic Gymnast Danell Leyva Comes Out

3-time Olympic medalist Danell Leyva (screen capture)
Gymnast Danell Leyva, who represented Team USA at two Olympic Games, came out to his 52,000+ followers on Twitter earlier this month on National Coming Out Day. “For a long time I’ve known that I wasn’t straight,” began the 28-year-old Cuban-American. “But because of certain very personal reasons, I always rejected that side of me.” Leyva added, “Earlier this year I finally understood that I’m bi/pan (still trying to figure that one out) but I also realized that, as of now at least, I’m not attracted to cis men.”

Speaking to Olympic Channel, Leyva shared that stereotypes about men in his sport, plus his own determination to not give homophobes “the satisfaction of being right,” slowed his coming out process in some respects. “[The stereotypes were] such a big factor in it, just not giving those people the satisfaction of being right because it doesn’t come from a good place,” said Leyva. “It wasn’t somebody that was trying to help us understand [our sexuality]. It was just somebody pointing at us and that doesn’t feel good.”

The Olympic champion also noted that, as he was growing up, he would “always somewhat reject” his sexuality. “And especially coming from Hispanic family, it’s very much rejected,” he added. Leyva says he had been thinking about coming out for a while and almost shared the news this past June during Pride Month. But with Black Lives Matter protests happening across the nation in the aftermath of George Floyd’s homicide, he reconsidered. “I was like, ‘No, I’m not really that important,’” said Leyva. “And so I decided to just kind of forget about it, and I did forget about it.” Until, that is, until this year’s National Coming Out Day and those five empowering tweets. Since sharing his authentic self with the world, Leyva says the response he’s received has been overwhelmingly positive and supportive. Among the many who have sent messages of support were fellow Olympic gymnasts Aly Raisman, Simone Biles, and out figure skater Adam Rippon.

Also comforting to the 2011 World parallel bars champion were messages giving him space to not worry about this label or that label. “In the post, I said that I’m still trying to figure out between whether I’m a bi or pan. It was nice to have people be like, ‘You don’t have to label it. You don’t have to just be ‘a thing’. It’s an ever-changing fluid thing, so you don’t have to worry about that,’” explained the world-class athlete. “That was nice because that was certainly reassuring.” “You know, it’s such a non-issue,” he continued. “It literally means nothing that if you’re just like, ‘Oh, you’re left-handed? That’s cool. Oh, you’re bi? That’s cool.’ Like, it’s really nothing.” “Everybody’s different, you know?” said Leyva before adding, “And at the same time, we’re not.” Leyva hopes that his coming out might offer some inspiration to those considering coming out themselves. “If I get help one person be brave enough to live in their truth, then I feel like that that was the entire point of that post.” And speaking of ‘inspiration,’ let’s flashback to Leyva’s exhibition performance on the parallel bars at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.

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High School Senior Says He Was Expelled For Coming Out As Gay & Proud

A high school senior was expelled right before the school year for coming out as gay and proud A high school senior in Texas says he was expelled from his school for coming out as gay. Devin Bryant has attended Covenant Christian Academy, located in Colleyville between Dallas and Fort Worth, since pre-K school. Seniors at Covenant are granted special parking spaces at the school and the students are allowed to create personalized signs for their spots. In advance of the beginning of the new school year, Bryant designed a sign which read, “Super Hot, Fun, Attractive, Fast-driving, Insane, Very Smart, Outgoing, Party Freak, Young, Gay (as in happy don’t worry lol), Pretty, Reckless, Humble, Pyromaniac, Fun, Gay (as in homosexual this time, sorry) Person Parking Only.” His design was rejected immediately upon submission. After meeting with the principal, though, Bryant agreed to change his design. “I then had a meeting with the principal in which we discussed the content of the artwork, which I agreed to change,” Devin told the Dallas Observer. “And I promised to not be as vocal about my sexuality for the rest of the year.” With his new parking space artwork, which was immediately approved by the school, Bryant looked forward to his senior year. But just four days before the beginning of school, his mother, Consolata Bryant, was informed Devin would not be allowed to return to Covenant. Devin told the Observer he thinks the issue wasn’t just that he came out as gay, but he was out and proud. “I know of people who have gotten in trouble for stuff way worse than what I did,” says the high school senior. “And they were disciplined more lightly than me, which definitely leads me to believe that it wasn’t the content of the artwork I sent in that got me kicked out.” “If I would’ve come out and said that I was ‘struggling’ with same-sex attraction instead of saying that I’m gay, I think they would’ve had a totally different reaction, and I may have been allowed to still attend there,” he added.

Devin Bryant (image via Devin Bryant)
In an email to the Observer, Dr. Tony Jeffrey, headmaster for Covenant Christian Academy, defended the expulsion pointing to an enrollment document students and parents are required to sign each year agreeing to live “in accordance with the community guidelines.” “This Covenant Christian Academy enrollment document, signed annually, specifically outlines practices and behaviors consistent with the CCA mission, based on our deeply held religious beliefs,” said Jeffrey. “That includes adhering to the biblical principal [sic] that the expression of human sexuality is appropriate only within the boundaries of a marital relationship between one man and one woman.” Jeffrey added, “Devin Bryant is an outstanding student, and we wish him every success in his studies, and in life.” Devin says he’s never met Jeffrey and Jeffrey wasn’t in attendance for the earlier meeting when the parking sign issue was decided. Consolata is, understandably, angry. “Despite the resolution we had reached, [Jeffrey] had taken it upon himself within the couple of days he had been at the school to seek votes from the board for Devin’s expulsion,” says Consolata. “He secured the votes needed and thus was calling to let us know that Devin was not to report to school that Monday, the 10th, with his classmates.” According to Consolata, Jeffrey’s exact words were that “Devin had chosen an evil path that was contrary to the Bible and therefore was evil and he was only doing what Jesus would do.” Since his expulsion, Devin has enrolled at Colleyville Heritage High School and has been placed in several honors classes. Upon graduation, he plans to attend college with an eye towards a degree in sociology. (source: Dallas Observer)

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News Round-Up: October 12, 2020

Rob Gronkowski of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers joins fellow NFL players in letting closeted players "When you're ready, so are we."

Rob Gronkowski of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers joins fellow NFL players in letting closeted players "When you're ready, so are we." Some news items you might have missed: • Pink News: The pharmacy chain Superdrug has launched the UK’s first-ever PrEP service and it will be fully remote (utilizing online doctors) in an effort to make it accessible to as many people as possible. Superdrug will, however, require that people accessing PrEP through its new service adhere to blood monitoring tests to ensure that they can safely take the HIV-preventing drug. • Back2Stonewall: It has been confirmed that the new HBO Max reboot series of the Green Lantern will feature the first Green Lantern character, Alan Scott – and, like in the Earth-2 comics, the character will be openly gay. • Instinct Magazine: Current and former pro football players (Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ Rob Gronkowski above) took part in this terrific PSA for National Coming Out Day. “Today, on National Coming Out Day, we come together with one clear message,” say the athletes direct to camera. “To all current players who are thinking of coming out, when you are ready, so are we. It takes all of us and you deserve to be all of you.”

• Politico: South Carolina Democrat Jaime Harrison raised a staggering $57 million in the third quarter of this year, shattering the previous record for a Senate candidate as he seeks to unseat GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham. Graham, who has not released his third-quarter fundraising totals, raised $8.4 million in the second quarter and had $15 million in the bank as of June 30. • AP News: Here’s a bit of a warning sign for Donald Trump who won the 65+ vote by 9 points in 2016. The Villages, the nation’s largest retirement community located in battleground state Florida, recently held a 300+ golf cart parade in support of Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden. • The Hill: Donald Trump’s son Eric told ABC News’s Jon Karl on Sunday his father’s treatment for COVID-19 a “vaccine” that he further claimed the president helped create from “day one.” • Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Eager Georgia voters swarmed to polling places Monday morning for the start of three weeks of early voting before Election Day. Voters filled parking lots and waited in lines to lock in their choices in advance of November 3. As the tweet below notes, 410,000 absentee ballots have already been returned versus a total of just over 200K in 2016.

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Teen Suicides Moved Zachary Quinto To Come Out

Zachary Quinto in ‘The Boys in the Band’ (photo: Netflix)
Zachary Quinto, currently starring in the Netflix screen adaptation of The Boys in the Band, recently shared for the first time the reason why he felt moved to come out as gay in 2011. Quinto hit the national spotlight as a series regular in the NBC sci-fi series Heroes in 2006, which he starred in for all four seasons. In 2007, he was announced to play a young Spock in the reboot of the Star Trek film franchise. Quinto told Variety in a recent interview that when he began his career in 1999, he was aware of the “explicit stigma’ that was attached to being an openly gay actor. “I did feel like me coming out would have potentially had an impact on my career and it wouldn’t have been a good one,” Quinto shares. He also recalled being out with a gay friend and running into a studio executive. After the encounter, the actor worried there were “going to be some ramifications” if he even appeared to be gay.
Zachary Quinto in 2012 (photo: Gerald Biggerstaff)
But then, in 2011, after reading the news of a series of teen queer suicides, Quinto had an epiphany. “That was at a time when a lot of young gay kids were killing themselves around the country because of bullying,” says the 43-year-old actor. “There was a huge spate of teen suicides that were happening.” “I just felt like I had an obligation at this point,” he added. “Having enjoyed a certain level of success, I felt like the hypocrisy was too much to bear for me to be enjoying this life that I had created for myself and not acknowledging my identity as a gay man.” “I felt like it was actively harming a group of young people who the choice to come out could benefit.”

Charlie Carver, one of Quinto’s The Boys in the Band cast mates, also shared his own reason for coming out with Variety which involved a colleague slapping him across the face for appearing “gay” at an Emmy Awards party in 2015. The coworker apparently criticized Carver three times over the course of the evening telling him to “get it under control.” When the young actor asked for ‘clarification,’ the man slapped Carver. Said Carver, “That was the moment when I said to myself, ‘I can’t do this. I cannot police myself in that way.’” The new TV adaptation of The Boys in the Band, starring the acclaimed all-gay/bi cast from the Tony Award-winning 2018 Broadway revival, is now streaming on Netflix. In addition to Quinto, the cast includes Jim Parsons, Matt Bomer, Andrew Rannells, Charlie Carver, Robin de Jesús, Brian Hutchison, Michael Benjamin Washington, and Tuc Watkins. The new screen version is based on the groundbreaking work of Mart Crowley.