Tag: coming out

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News Round-Up: May 2, 2019

• InstaHunk JW says, "Be thankful for the hard times - they can only make you stronger."

Some news items you might have missed:

• InstaHunk JW says, “Be thankful for the hard times – they can only make you stronger.”

• Jake Bain, the Indiana State football player who came out while still in high school, has announced he will “step away from football and focus on academics.”

• In anticipation of the upcoming Rocketman, chronicling the life of music superstar Elton John, the producers have released an official music video of the title song sung by film’s star, Taron Egerton. The musical fantasy biopic lands in US theaters May 31.

• Out producer/director Greg Berlanti (Love, Simon; Riverdale; Supergirl) says the most egregious example of anti-LGBTQ bias he’s seen in Hollywood was “gay executives and gay casting people who were the least likely to let me cast an actor they knew was gay in a straight part. These were the individuals who knew how important it would be.”

• Far-right loons like Alex Jones and Milo Yiannopolous have been banned from Facebook and Instagram (finally) in an effort to reduce hate speech.

• When Channing Tatum loses, we all win. The ‘Magic Mike’ star lost a game of Jenga, and so he had to post a photo of girlfriend Jessie J’s choosing. She has good taste.

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Podcast: Trolls Bungle Fake Buttigieg Smear, Mormon Valedictorian Comes Out At Graduation; 2019 Tony Award Nominations

In this week's podcast: • GOP trolls attempt to smear Mayor Pete Buttigieg • A valedictorian at Brigham Young University comes out during his graduation speech • The president of Brazil told gays not to come to his country • Disney cancelled its award-winning LGBTQ-inclusive series Andi Mack • The 2019 Tony Awards nominations are out including a Special Tony Award for Judith Light for her LGBTQ advocacy All that and more in this episode of The Randy Report podcast.

In this week’s podcast:

• GOP trolls attempt to smear Mayor Pete Buttigieg

• A valedictorian at Brigham Young University comes out during his graduation speech

• The president of Brazil told gays not to come to his country

• Disney cancelled its award-winning LGBTQ-inclusive series Andi Mack

• The 2019 Tony Awards nominations are out including a Special Tony Award for Judith Light for her LGBTQ advocacy

All that and more in this episode of The Randy Report podcast.

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Taron Egerton Covers Attitude Magazine

Taron Egerton covers Attitude Magazine’s June Issue
Taron Egerton, who plays pop superstar Elton John in the upcoming musical fantasy biopic Rocketman, shares with Attitude Magazine there was a time he wondered if he might be gay.

“When I was 14 or 15, I had a period of thinking I might be gay and I spoke to my mother about it,” says the 29-year-old. “It was a part of a period in my life where my mind was figuring things out.”

There’s something many of us can relate to.

Blaming the confusion on teenage hormones, Egerton admits it’s a time when “you question everything.”

“It was a very real feeling to me, and I was very panicked and upset about how I would be perceived,” the Welsh actor told Attitude. “That is not the same as going through it for real, but there is some understanding of what it might be like, and I remember feeling that acutely.”

The Kingsman star admits it’s not the same thing as coping with coming out himself, but “I guess there is a small kernel of that which I have experienced.”

Additionally, he shares that his roommate and bestie in drama school came out to him during that time, and he had a first-hand view of how the coming out process can impact a person.

“I’ve had someone cry in my arms about the fact that they were so terrified and at a loss at what to do,” he says.

When you add all that up, it’s not surprising that Egerton recently told GQ UK that he “always felt more at home in a gay club than at a football match.”

Still, Egerton is sympathetic that he landed a plum role that many gay actors would have relished.

“I completely understand why a gay actor would feel that this is an opportunity for which they would be better suited,” he acknowledged. “The way I feel about it is Elton asked me to play in a movie about his life. I am proud and privileged to be playing this person who happens to be gay.”

He also guarantees the film will not be ‘straight-washed,’ as many alleged the recent Bohemian Rhapsody hedged on the sexuality of Freddie Mercury.

“I would not have played this character if I didn’t think we could make a film the gay community would watch and feel a sense of ownership of,” he promises.

Check out Egerton’s full interview in Attitude’s June issue.

And check out more from his photo shoot below.

A post shared by Attitude Magazine (@attitudemag) on Apr 25, 2019 at 8:14am PDT

(Source: Attitude Magazine)

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Tweenage Character Comes Out As Trans On NBC’s ‘Good Girls’

On last night’s episode of NBC's Good Girls, Sadie (Isaiah Stannard) told mom Annie (Mae Whitman) that they identify as a boy.
Isaiah Stannard (L) and Mae Whitman (R)

On last night’s episode of NBC’s Good Girls, Sadie (Isaiah Stannard) told mom Annie (Mae Whitman) that they identify as a boy.

Annie takes in the news in the best way possible. Watch below.

Last season, there were subtle allusions that Sadie was exploring their gender identity.

Isaiah Stannard, who plays Sadie, is an out trans boy and uses he/him pronouns.

Jenna Bans, creator of the show, spoke to Variety last summer about the casting of Isaiah.

“Good Girls” creator Jenna Bans had an eye-opening experience when casting her NBC dramedy. She had originally written Sadie, the tweenage daughter of Mae Whitman’s Annie, as a boy named Ben. When her casting director asked if she’d be interested in seeing a girl for the part of a boy, she was intrigued and hired Izzy Stannard — a young actor who, at the time, seemed to identify with the female gender assigned to him at birth. By the time filming began, Stannard made it clear that he identified as a boy and was using he/him pronouns.

“We realized we had a really great opportunity to tell a story about a character who was gender non-conforming, but at the same time not necessarily have that be what leads the story,” says Bans, who also did her due diligence and consulted GLAAD’s Adams. “What’s most important to the character and the story we’re telling between Sadie and Annie is really about the bond between Sadie and her mom. We liked the idea that the character of Sadie was exploring her gender [expression] in the show, but I think what we responded to more was that the Mae Whitman character just couldn’t care less.”

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Mayor Pete Shares With Rachel Maddow His Coming Out Process

In a revealing one-on-one interview on MSNBC’s The Rachel Maddow Show, Maddow spoke with Democratic presidential contender Mayor Pete Buttigieg about a range of topics, including being closeted and coming out.

In a revealing one-on-one interview on MSNBC’s The Rachel Maddow Show, Maddow spoke with Democratic presidential contender Mayor Pete Buttigieg about a range of topics, including being closeted and coming out.

It was a particularly candid exchange as Maddow pointed out the two had both been Rhodes scholars. Even though Maddow had gone through the Rhodes scholarship process 10 years before Buttigieg, she noted that she had been the first out American Rhodes Scholar.

But Buttigieg didn’t come out until he was 33-years-old – after his college days, his Rhodes Scholar days, serving in the military and becoming mayor of South Bend, Indiana.

“I think it would have killed me to be closeted for that long,” said Maddow without coloring the statement. “Not coming out until your early 30s, I just wonder if that was hurtful to you? If it hurt you to do it?”

“It was hard,” Buttigieg replied. “It was really hard.”

“Coming out is hard, but being in the closet is harder,” Maddow pointed out.

The 37-year-old mayor continued, sounding much like many people who wrestle with their closet demons.

“There were certainly plenty of indications by the time I was 15 or so that I could point back [and say] ‘yeah, this kid’s gay.’ I guess I just really needed to not be. There’s this war that breaks out inside a lot of people when they realize that they might be something they’re afraid of. It took me a very long time to resolve that.”

It was his deployment in Afghanistan that led Buttigieg to his personal epiphany.

“I realized that you only get to be one person; you don’t know how long you have on this earth,” he shared. “And by the time I came back, I realized, ‘I gotta do something.’”

That ‘something’ would be publicly coming out via an op-ed published in the South Bend Tribune in 2015 as he was running for reelection. He would go on to win in a landslide with 80% of the vote.

Today, as the first openly gay Democratic candidate for president, Buttigieg acknowledges the world seems more accepting.

“One thing that gives me a lot of encouragement – don’t get me wrong, as you know there’s plenty of ugliness that comes in from all over the place – most people, I think, are either supportive or even enthusiastic about the idea of the first out person going this far,” he said. “Or, they find a way to let me know they don’t care – and that’s historic, too.”

“One day, the way this will work, when the mayor is trying to figure out how to come out, you go to the next rubber chicken you’re going to and your date’s the same sex. And that’s that,” he said. “People shrug, figure it out, and get on with the evening.”

“It didn’t feel that way in Indiana in 2015.”

I’ll note it’s interesting to watch Mayor Pete listen. He’s not just waiting to repeat a talking point, but really listening, hearing, and considering his response.

Watch the exchange below.

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Gus Kenworthy Became Emotional Talking Coming Out At 2019 Point Foundation Gala

Gus Kenworthy (Photo by Cindy Ord/Getty Images for Point Honors Gala New York 2019)

Olympic medalist Gus Kenworthy was honored this past Monday at the Point Foundation’s 2019 New York gala.

The Point Foundationempowers promising LGBTQ students to reach their full academic potential – despite the obstacles often put before them – to make a significant impact on society.

Point is the largest scholarship granting organization in the United States for LGBTQ students of merit.

Introduced by Queer Eye’s Jonathan Van Ness, Kenworthy accepted this year’s Point Leadership Award by remembering his own school years when he was closeted.

Speaking of the LGBTQ students in the room, he noted how “incredibly inspiring” they are to him as they live their truths today “unashamed and unapologetically.”

“I wish that I had the courage to be myself when I was in high school,” he admitted “But it took me many years to get to that point.”

The Olympic silver medalist addressed the “stress and anxiety” queer adolescents face during those years.

“We often face ridicule and we fear torment,” he continued. “My time spent in the closet is a blur of depression and anxiety.”

Noting that he did experience high points during those times – becoming a professional skier, graduating high school, making his first Olympic team and scoring his first Olympic medal – the 27-year-old candidly shared that, “I didn’t really enjoy those moments to their fullest because I truly wasn’t present for them.”

In keeping up a facade of ‘straightness,’ he says he didn’t really feel the gravity of winning an Olympic medal.

And, echoing sentiments we heard from White House hopeful Mayor Pete Buttigieg this past weekend, Kenworthy admitted that he tried to wish away being gay.

“I remember wishing more than anything else that I were just straight,” he told the audience. “I would literally pray that I might wake up and not be gay anymore. I would be ‘normal’ and the rest of my life would be easy. I worked twice as hard at everything I did to make up for the fact that I was gay – something I thought was a shortcoming at the time.”

But coming out – something he used to fear – would be his salvation.

Kenworthy explained that once he came out in 2015 via ESPN Magazine, he had his best ski season ever. And he hadn’t changed a single thing about his training or approach to his sport.

Except – “I was finally competing as myself.”

“And that little extra bit of energy, that I’d previously spent worrying, stressing, compartmentalizing, that extra little bit was my ticket to success.”

Gus Kenworthy (L) and Jonathan Van Ness (R)
(Photo by Cindy Ord/Getty Images for Point Honors Gala New York 2019)

Kenworthy then listed many of the fearsome obstacles young LGBTQs face today including “violence” and “isolation.”

He became emotional intoning the danger gays around the world contend with, like being stoned to death in countries like Brunei.

And here in the U.S.: “We have a president who has made repeated attacks on our community, on our trans brothers, sisters, and gender non-binary siblings.”

“We have a Vice President who still believes in conversion therapy, for f*cks sake,” he added.

However, expressing his confidence that the next generation of LGBTQ youth will create a bright future, he offered this in closing: “Continue spreading your charisma, uniqueness, nerve and talent – because shantay, you stay!”

Click here to learn more about the Point Foundation.

A post shared by gus kenworthy (@guskenworthy) on Apr 9, 2019 at 9:43am PDT

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‘This Is Us’ Explores The Millions Of Questions AFTER Coming Out

On last night’s season finale of NBC’s acclaimed hit series This Is Us, young Tess (played by Eris Baker) confided in her Uncle Kevin (Justin Hartley) that she’s struggling with a million questions about finding her authentic self since coming out recently.
Justin Hartley and Eris Baker on ‘This Is Us’

Remember when you thought coming out WAS the tough part?

On last night’s season finale of NBC’s acclaimed hit series This Is Us, young Tess (played by Eris Baker) confided in her Uncle Kevin (Justin Hartley) that she’s struggling with a million questions about finding her authentic self since coming out recently.

“I thought coming out to you guys would be the hardest part,” says Tess. “But, instead, I just have a million more questions about myself.”

“What clothes make me feel like the real me? What books should I be reading? What movies should I be seeing? When will I finally decide to tell my friends?”

Wise (hunky) uncle Kevin, while admitting he never went through the exact same thing, takes a breath before sharing with Tess that most of us don’t figure ourselves out all at once.

Boy, is that true.

“I think it happens over a long period of time – piece by piece,” says Kevin as he goes on to list personal revelations he’s experienced along the way.

“We go through this life, slowly but surely, collecting little pieces of ourselves that we can’t really live without until, eventually we have enough of them to where we feel whole,” says the uncle who has certainly had his own personal learning curve as an adult.

“You, my niece, have so many years ahead of you to find all of your pieces.”

Watch the two actors handle this complicated, real life moment with finesse below.

In case you missed Tess’s touching coming out to her parents (played by Sterling K. Brown and Susan Kelechi Watson), hit the play button below.

I think a LOT of people will understand/remember the anxious, emotional, caught-in-the-throat moment.

This is art reflecting life.

This is us.

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Gay Son Of A Pastor Sings Emotional “Landslide” Dedicated To His Parents

Jeremiah Lloyd Harmon, the gay son of a Maryland pastor, delivered an emotional performance of Fleetwood Mac’s “Landslide” on American Idol Sunday night.
Jeremiah Lloyd Harmon on American Idol (screen capture via YouTube)

Jeremiah Lloyd Harmon, the gay son of a Maryland pastor, delivered an emotional performance of Fleetwood Mac’s “Landslide” on American Idol Sunday night.

For his first AI audition, Harmon performed an original song titled, “After Heaven,” which wonders if there would be a place in heaven for him.

At the time, he was working as a janitor in his dad’s church. But, he’s since left that job.

The 26-year-old shared that his “Landslide” performance was dedicated to his parents, who he revealed have not accepted him since he came out as gay.

“They were really on my mind when I sang that,” he said in a clip interspersed with his performance. “I just want them to know that I love them, and I tried to communicate that.”

The song choice made for powerful reflection as he sang the song before a live audience:

Can the child within my heart rise above?
Can I sail through the changing ocean tides?
Can I handle the seasons of my life?

“I just gotta keep telling myself that I can do this,” said Harmon through tears to the camera. “I’m doing this for me. I’m doing this for everyone who’s been outcast by their loved ones.”

“I know that this isn’t just my experience, and if I can be open about it and vulnerable, then maybe that can bring hope to somebody else.”

After the performances, Harmon sat down to hear what the judges had to say.

Katy Perry, who is also the child of a pastor, connected with Harmon relating how her parents didn’t groove on her first hit song, “I Kissed a Girl.”

“It was difficult for me because I felt very alone in what is supposed to be a very exciting time in my life,” she shared. “It has taken some time, but we’ve all come around to agree to disagree.”

“I just want to say, from one pastor’s kid to another, that I see you, and I love you, and I accept you, and I’m so proud of you,” she added.

And with that, she told Harmon he would be moving on to the round of Top 20 aspiring singers.

The ginger singer has definitely struck a chord with the TV audience.

Up to now, the decisions have been left to the judges. Here’s hoping the viewers at home pick up the phone and vote for Harmon.

And, depending how far he goes, will his parents show up along his American Idol journey?

Well, I’ve been afraid of changing
Cause I’ve built my life around you
But time makes you bolder
Even children get older
And I’m gettin’ older, too

Jeremiah Lloyd Harmon, the gay son of a Maryland pastor, delivered an emotional performance of Fleetwood Mac’s “Landslide” on American Idol Sunday night making the Top 20.

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Cameron Hawthorn & The Romance Of ‘Dancing In The Living Room’

Country music artist Cameron Hawthorn comes out as he releases his newest single, "Dancing in the Living Room"
Cameron Hawthorn (image via Facebook)

Having been born in the 1960s, I have distant-but-fond memories of my parents dancing in our living room on Saturday nights as they got ready to head out on the town.

Social ballroom dancing was beginning to decline, but my parents still loved going to dance halls in our town of Fort Worth, Texas.

Being so young, I never got to see them trip the light fantastic out on a dance floor, but they would set  the mood for the evening at home with music on the stereo.

And I remember the romance of it all.

When I grew up and moved to New York City, I discovered gay country/two-stepping nights in Manhattan in the early 1990s.

I hadn’t ever experienced one-on-one social dancing as an adult gay man until those country music-filled nights. The line dances came fairly easy to me, but I was so taken by the partner slow dances.

I never learned how to lead very well, but I could follow (we’ll just leave that there, ok?). And I found it so romantic to move to music while holding another man. I was quite smitten with the concept.

When I moved to Los Angeles to be with my hubby, Michael, I tried to get him to go dancing at Oil Can Harry’s in Studio City, just a few blocks from our first apartment. But he had been teased some years before about his dancing – unfairly so – and he’d become quite bashful about it.

I would teach him the basics in our living room – slow, slow, quick, quick, slow, slow, quick, quick. He was a quick learner, but he never got up the nerve to get out and bust a move on the dance floor in public.

The full extent of dancing with my hubby were those early days in our apartment living room, although he does spontaneously dip me every now and then. No, that’s not a euphemism.

But I remember the romance of it all.

So, it comes as no surprise the new music video from Cameron Hawthorn, “Dancing in the Living Room,” led me to some oh-so-familiar (and very romantical) territory.

Both the song and video are disarmingly charming.

The video features couples ranging from gay, straight, older, and younger, finding a quiet intimate moment together.

And I remember the romance of it all.

Cameron’s vocals are confident and heartfel; the production is top-notch and authentic.

And speaking of authentic – this release is Cameron’s coming out letter to his fans.

The final scene of the video finds the country crooner himself coming home to his boyfriend, and finding a moment to connect as they sway together in time to the music.

Inspired by the message that ‘love is love,’ Cameron says, “For me and for so many others, that message is beyond important. It’s a simple message, but it needs to be told right now in the world we live in”.

Cameron says, after years of avoiding writing about romantic love in his music while living a closeted life, “I finally decided I needed to record and release this as a part of my journey.”

And like music that’s universally compelling, it seems like he’s experienced some of the same thing I did with my guy.

“I remember always thinking how special it was to dance freely with my boyfriend in the living room of our apartment – being gay, it’s not as easy to dance as a couple in public together as it is for a straight couple,” he shares. “I wanted to express how special that moment is for a couple, when it’s just the two of you in the privacy of your own four walls.”

While I share a lot of quality music from out musicians here on The Randy Report, it’s not often I get tipped to gay country artists – although I have featured the very talented Patrick Masse and Drake Jensen in recent years here.

With their successes, along with Nashville’s Chely Wright and Ty Herndon, here’s hoping the door is opened that much wider for the next generation of worthy out country artists like Cameron Hawthorn.

I like. And I think you will, too. Hit the play button below and enjoy.

You can follow Cameron on Facebook here and find more of his music on iTunes here.

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BYU’s ‘Cosmo The Cougar’ Comes Out In Op-Ed

Charlie Bird with ‘Cosmo the Cougar’

Charlie Bird, who performed as the Brigham Young University mascot Cosmo the Cougar from 2015-2018, came out recently in a touching essay for Deseret News.

For those of you who haven’t seen Bird’s amazing performances as Cosmo, check this out:

In his coming out story, Bird shares that behind the mask of Cosmo, he felt ‘invincible.’

My senior year as Cosmo was unforgettable. It was thrilling to watch fans around the globe share Cosmo’s newest dance video, which garnered hundreds of millions of views across social media platforms. I performed live on ESPN at the College Football Awards, and NBC Sports dubbed 2017-2018 the “Year of the Mascot” in honor of Cosmo’s viral influence. When I was Cosmo, I felt invincible.

As scary as it seemed to dance in front of 60,000 people, an even scarier thought often crept into my mind — “If they knew who I really was, would they hate me?”

I wore another mask while I was at BYU — a mask to cover the shame I felt for being “different.” For years I pleaded with God to change my sexual orientation, but after returning to BYU from a full-time mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I began realizing that being gay is an integral part of who I am. As I grappled to develop a better understanding of myself, I felt immense pressure to hide my sexual orientation. I was hyper-aware of what some of my peers said about the gay community, how they viewed same-sex attraction and the often unkind and insensitive words they used to describe LGBTQ people — people like me.

The same community that made me feel like a superstar often simultaneously made me feel broken, unloved and defective.

Bird notes that during his senior year, BYU was ranked as the second-most LGBTQ-unfriendly college in the United States, based on student responses to a Princeton Review survey.

Imagine all those folks cheering for you, and traveling the country proudly representing a school and community that held a clearly negative view of who you are as a person.

It’s a good read. Click here for the full essay.

A post shared by Charlie Bird (@birdmancharles13) on Feb 26, 2019 at 10:32am PST