Tag: coming out

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Dolly Parton On Artists Coming Out Today “They’re Just Trying To Find Their Way”

Country music legend Dolly Parton

In a recent interview, country music legend Dolly Parton wondered aloud if some music artists’ declarations of broader sexual identities might be “to make people think they’re so free and all that.”

Chatting with showbiz columnist Dan Wootton for his podcast, The Dan Wootton Interview, Parton referred to herself as “an old timer” when asked about recent announcements by artists declaring themselves as gender fluid, bisexual or pansexual.

“I don’t want to criticize or judge anybody, but sometimes I think it’s just become kind of fashionable to speak out like that,” said the 73-year-old icon. “I think some of them even say more than who they really are.”

“I think they just want to be part of that whole movement to make people think that they’re so free and all that, but I don’t really know how they feel inside,” she added. “They’re just trying to find their way.”

Pointing to her gender fluid/pansexual godchild, Miley Cyrus, she noted, “She does a lot of stuff for effect, and I think a lot of them do.”

Currently in London for the opening of her musical, 9 To 5, the longtime LGBTQ ally does give a squeak when referred to as a gay icon (“I love that!”) and shares that if she’d been born male she would have “been a drag queen because I love all the flamboyant stuff.”

She also bats away longtime rumors about her own sexuality thanks to her lifelong friendship with bestie, Judy Ogle.

“So people say that – because you can’t really have a great relationship with a woman,” said the ‘Jolene’ legend. “I’m not gay, but I have so many gay friends and I accept everybody for who they are.”

The Country Music Hall of Famer, with 25 number one songs on the Billboard country charts, doesn’t worry about such chatter.

“People love to talk, but sometimes that’s your best publicity,” said Parton, who will celebrate her 53rd wedding anniversary with husband Carl Dean in May. “I don’t care what they say as long as they don’t hurt other people I love.”

Some in the media worried that Parton’s comments might have had a negative slant, but Parton’s status as an LGBTQ ally is long-cemented by actions and statements across the years in defense of the gay community.

From telling Billboard Magazine that those who judge gays are committing their own personal sin to apologizing to a theme park guest who was told to turn their marriage equality t-shirt inside out in order to get into the park, to writing the Oscar-nominated song “Travelin’ Thru” for transgender-themed film, Transamerica, Parton has been there (and more) for the LGBTQ community.

You can listen to Wootton’s chat with Dolly Parton via iTunes here or hit play below.

The discussion of sexuality begins around the 12:45 mark.

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Ben Platt (Dear Evan Hansen) Comes Out In PEOPLE Interview, Drops New Music Video “Ease My Mind”

With his debut album set to drop March 29, Ben Platt comes out in an interview with PEOPLE
Ben Platt and Charlie Carver in “Ease My Mind” (screen capture)

For several years now, Broadway’s sensitive ‘golden boy,’ Ben Platt has captured the hearts and minds of theater audiences with his show-stopping performances in The Book of Mormon and his Tony Award-winning turn as the anxious, social misfit “Evan Hansen” in the hit musical, Dear Evan Hansen.

Now, he’s set his sights on conquering the music industry with his first solo album, Sing To Me Instead, set to drop on March 29.

He recently released the first two music videos from the album, both directed by longtime friend Nick Lieberman.

At the end of “Bad Habit,” after spending the bulk of the song missing a former lover, a last second shot revealed that lover to be out actor Charlie Carver (Teen Wolf, Boys in the Band).

At the time, this writer wondered, “Did Ben Platt just come out?”

In an exclusive interview with PEOPLE, Platt does just that as he shares that wanted his audience to hear from the authentic “Ben.”

“If I was going to write about people I loved, I wasn’t going to pretend they weren’t men just because I hadn’t talked about that before,” Platt tells PEOPLE.

As he worked with a team of songwriters to create what he wanted to be a deeply personal statement about who he is, Platt felt the album would be his “first opportunity to represent my relationships and the men that I’ve loved.”

“I only wanted to take this leap if I was going to present every part of myself,” he adds.

Always a storyteller, Platt knew he wanted the collection of songs to have an arc that covered not only his personal relationships but “a grander perspective about bigger questions about family and mortality and things like that.”

Platt released the full music video for the gospel-tinged, “Ease My Mind,” today again incorporating a relationship with Charlie Carver in the story arc.

With the album release date looming on the horizon, Platt is also prepping for a concert tour to support the record.

“As a kid, I wanted to do an original musical and get a Tony, and so the fact that that happened is such a freeing thing,” says Platt. “Now I can sort of go down another path and see where that leads.”

(ht/ PEOPLE)

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Disney Channel Has Its First Character To Say The Words “I’m Gay”

More history was made yesterday when the character of Cyrus Goodman (played by Joshua Rush) became the first Disney character to ever say the words, "I'm gay."
Joshua Rush in the Disney Channel series, ‘Andi Mack’
(screen capture)

In 2017, the popular Disney Channel series Andi Mack announced the show would feature a gay story arc – a first for the channel.

More history was made yesterday when the character of Cyrus Goodman (played by Joshua Rush) became the first Disney character to ever say the words, “I’m gay.”

In the episode titled, “One in a Minyan,” the show’s principal characters are at the shiva of Goodman’s grandmother.

Helping to explain some of the Jewish dishes at the buffet, Goodman points out kuegel, bagels and lox, and gefilte fish before ending his list by telling the character of Jonah Beck, his former crush, “I’m gay.”

“Yeah?” Beck replies. “Cool.”

And, life went on – just as it should.

(photo: Disney ABC)

The writer of the episode, Jonathan Hurwitz, wrote in a guest post for GLAAD that the inspiration for the moment came from his own coming out process back in 2010 with a college friend.

While grabbing burgers one afternoon, he asked me to pass the ketchup, so I handed him the bottle while mumbling the words, “I’m gay.” He looked up at me, said “Cool,” then proceeded to put ketchup on his burger as if I hadn’t just revealed my most personal, deepest truth.

I remember thinking: “That’s it?! After a ten-year journey to come out to myself, I finally come out to my friend and all I get is a ‘Cool?!’” But what I ultimately realized was that my friends and family loved me unconditionally before I’d even learned to truly love myself.

Rush took to Twitter to share his pride, writing,“Every day is a blessing working on this show. This milestone is just another stitch in a rich and vibrant tapestry that is Cyrus Goodman.”

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Pro-Wrestler Anthony Bowens Comes Out (Again)

Pro wrestler Anthony Bowens comes out - again
Pro wrestler Anthony Bowens comes out – again

Professional wrestler Anthony Bowens has come out – again.

After coming out in 2017 as bisexual, Bowens now says he’s come to the point where the term doesn’t really apply to him today.

“It’s on to a new year, a new journey and, apparently, a new label,” says the hunky 28-year-old in a YouTube video titled ‘COMING OUT…again.’

“The main purpose of this video is to tell everybody that I prefer to be labeled now as gay,” he begins.

In advance of the reactions he’s bracing for, Bowens admits, “There’s going to be ‘thank you, it’s great that you’re being open and honest and we love you,’ there’s going to be the ‘well, we knew that,’ and there’s going to be the ‘bi now gay later’ people.”

The hunky wrestler says he initially identified as bisexual as he “didn’t know much about the LGBTQ community” and he had been attracted to both genders.

While he still advocates for bisexuality (‘100 percent’), Bowens says, “As you get older, your viewpoints change; the way you look at the world changes; the way you look at yourself changes.”

He shares that recently, in looking back at some old articles featuring him, he realized the word ‘bisexual’ was used over and over to describe him.

“It was kind of annoying me that they had to continually put what I was,” he lamented. “I couldn’t just be a professional wrestler, I was the ‘bisexual pro wrestler,’ but I just wasn’t identifying with that term any more.”

Bowens’ relationship with boyfriend Michael Pavano, who he met in 2016, also has impacted the way he views himself.

“I’m in love with Michael, I want to marry Michael, I’m picturing myself being with a man for the rest of my life, so the term ‘bisexual’ felt less and less me the more time went on,” he tells his YouTube audience. “And I now feel more comfortable labeling myself as ‘gay.’”

The athlete also stresses that he didn’t use the term ‘bisexual’ as a gateway to ‘gay.’ It’s just how life unfolded for him.

“There are some people out there who will use that just because they are afraid to say that they’re gay, but not everybody’s like that, and I don’t think they should be judged for it because everybody has their own way of figuring themselves out,” explains Bowen.

“Please don’t be a hypocrite,” implores Bowen. “I think it’s very hypocritical as people who identify as LGBT who get judged by a lot of people about our lifestyle, then turn around and judge others in the same community.”

Amen, Anthony.

You can watch ‘COMING OUT…again’ below.

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British Lawmaker Comes Out As HIV+ In Moving Speech

Labour MP Lloyd Russell-Moyle comes out as HIV+

During a debate today in the House of Commons, Labour MP Lloyd Russell-Moyle courageously came out as is HIV positive, making a personal appeal in advance of World AIDS Day to tackle the stigma still associated with HIV/AIDS.

Russell-Moyle becomes the first lawmaker to announce his HIV status in the Commons, and only the second MP to share their HIV+ status with the public.

According to The Guardian, the 32-year-old parliamentarian shared that he was first diagnosed with HIV ten years ago, and thanks to advances in HIV treatments he is able to live entirely unaffected by HIV.

“I wanted to be able to stand here in this place and say to those who are living with HIV that their status does not define them,” Russell-Moyle, the MP for Brighton Kemptown since 2017, said in a speech that drew tributes from many other MPs.

“We can be whoever we want to be, and to those who have not been tested, maybe because of fear, I say to you: it is better to live in knowledge than to die in fear.”

As he finished his speech, his fellow Labour members stood to applaud him even though applause is normally prohibited in the chamber. However, as you can see in the video below, the half dozen Tories in the chamber sat silent.

With the world observing the 30th anniversary of World AIDS Day on Saturday, Russell-Moyle said the day “gives us pause to reflect how far we have come, and to remember those we have lost.”

“But such events are also deeply personal to me. Next year I will be marking an anniversary of my own – 10 years since I became HIV positive,” he continued. “It has been a long journey, from the fear of acceptance and today, hopefully, advocacy, knowing that my treatment keeps me healthy and protects any partner that I may have.”

“I have a perfectly healthy life,” he added. “So my announcement here today should go totally unnoticed.”

Russell-Moyle later tweeted:

Former Labour minister Chris Smith, elected to the Commons in 1983 and the first openly gay MP, announced he was HIV+ shortly before leaving Parliament in 2005.

Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the Labour Party, later honored Russell-Moyle saying, “Lloyd has shown enormous courage today. I know the whole Labour party is proud of him.”

(h/t The Guardian)

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Gus Kenworthy Helps College Student Be ‘Fearless’ In Coming Out

Gus Kenworthy, Ashley Graham help John to come out to his parents

Ellen DeGeneres has launched a new web series titled, Fearless, hosted by entrepreneur and body positive activist Ashley Graham.

The digital series, hosted on EllenTube, focuses on helping people struggling with their own confidence issues to rally the courage to rise above, take the next step and become unapologetically fearless.

In this episode, Ashley helps 20-year-old college student John come out to his parents.

John admits he’s come out to his friends but the idea of telling his parents he’s gay has him “freaked out.”

He says that he first became aware of being attracted to boys in 7th grade but it wasn’t until after he graduated high school and a friend asked him point blank if he was gay.

Gus Kenworthy on coming out

Ashley brings in out Olympian Gus Kenworthy to help John get up the nerve to make the call to his parents.

Kenworthy famously came out on the cover of ESPN Magazine back in 2015. Since then, he’s become one of the leading voices for LGBTQ representation and authenticity.

Gus shares that coming out for him, while scary and nerve-wracking (he didn’t sleep the night before), was ultimately a very positive experience.

Ashley asks if Gus’s friends wanted to talk about the gay thing after he came out and Gus laughs saying, “There’s a thing that straight people are going to do to you; they’re like, ‘Oh my god, you’re gay? You should meet my friend Jason, he’s gay.’”

And with that, they send John off to make THE call to his parents.

The reaction? Watch the video below to find out. Plus, there’s a surprise twist!

At the end of the short video, Gus has these words for those facing their own coming out:

“For anyone who’s watching that’s in the closet and struggling with their identity, their sexuality, I just want to let you know that you are valid, you are seen, you are heard, you are loved. And it can be really scary thinking about taking that step and revealing who you are and being so transparent with the world. But you’re going to be so much happier for it, and you living your life authentically and unapologetically is going to make it that much easier for other people to do the same.”

Follow the digital series Fearless here with new episodes every Wednesday.

Past episodes include Laverne Cox meeting a transgender man who’s never met another trans person before, and Ashley giving a teacher a lesson on body confidence.

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Top Ranked Djokovic Wouldn’t Have A Problem With An Out Pro Tennis Player

Novak Djokovic (image via WikiMedia)

The top ranked male tennis player in the world, Novak Djokovic, says he would support the coming out of a male pro tennis player.

Outsports reports that after his round-robin win at the the ATP World Tour Finals in London earlier this month, Djokovic told reporters he would see a fellow player coming out as a “courageous move.”

Although there are several female professional tennis player both past and present, no professional male player has come out publicly at this time.

When asked what his reaction would be to a player coming out, the 14-time grand slam champion said, “I wouldn’t have anything against that, absolutely.”

“It’s everybody’s right to have sexual orientation as they desire, any kind of direction in life they desire,” he replied. “I respect it.”

The Serbian did acknowledge that while he doesn’t “see people differently if they come out like that,” he was quick to add that “certain parts of the world are not ready to accept that.”

He would know. His native country of Serbia has a troubled past when it comes to LGBTQ rights and protections.

Although Serbia has an openly gay Prime Minister, Ana Brnabić, the country offers no legal recognition for same-sex relationships and adoption by gay couples isn’t allowed.

In fact, it wasn’t until 1994 that the country reversed its laws making homosexuality illegal.

Djokovic, however, has a much more LGBTQ-friendly history.

Gay Star News points up an episode at the 2012 US Open when, during a practice session, a young boy asked the superstar to marry him.

With a warm smile, Djokovic laughed, shook the boy’s hand and actually invited him onto the court for a little practice.

Watch the ‘proposal’ and Djokovic’s reaction below.

And thanks, ND, for being a true champion.

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Jake Borelli Assumed His ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Character Was Straight

Jake Borelli for Gay Times Magazine (all photos – Gray Hamner)

Actor Jake Borelli, who recently came out as gay on social media moments after his character on Grey’s Anatomy, Dr. Levi “Glasses” Schmitt, experienced his first same-sex kiss, graces the cover the newest issue of Gay Times Magazine.

The totally adorable actor shares with Gay Times that since the airing of the now-famous ‘elevator kiss’ between Schmitt and hunky Dr. Nico Kim (played by Alex Landi), he’s “received so many messages” he can barely keep up.

“I sat there for like four hours and some of them were heartbreaking, and some of them were filled with joy and excitement,” Borelli shares with Gay Times. “It was beautiful to see how brave all of the fans were being with sharing their story. It truly felt like we were doing this together.”

The TV relationship is the latest in a long run of LGBT diverse representation on Grey’s Anatomy, now in its 15th season.

Borelli shares that he, like the rest of the audience, assumed Schmitt was straight during his first season with the show last year. With this new development in Schmitt’s storyline, Borelli thinks there’s an important lesson to be learned.

“You probably shouldn’t assume anything about anybody’s sexuality because I assumed he was straight,” says Borelli. “I would say he doesn’t even know yet at this point. He’s still learning, he’s still grappling with his own sexuality.”

In fact, Borelli admits he’s had to step back and adjust the backstory he’d created for the character now that this new dynamic has come into play.

“I think we came up with something really beautiful and really exciting, and it’s a story I would’ve loved to have seen when I was younger,” says the 27-year-old actor. “It’s a story that fits right into my own history, and it’s very close to me in some ways.”

And while he acknowledges the role and storyline may be “way bigger than me and my own coming out,” he hopes the Hollywood ‘powers that be’ take note of how the TV audience is embracing the Schmitt/Kim romance.

“I can’t imagine other tastemakers in the industry aren’t seeing this and aren’t getting super excited about it,” clearly enjoying the positive reactions he’s seeing. “We’re craving diversity and representation and different stories – stories that weren’t at the forefront of the narrative.”

Grey’s Anatomy airs on ABC at 8/7c on Thursdays.

Click here to order Borelli’s issue of Gay Times Magazine.

(Photo credit: Gray Hamner/courtesy Gay Times Magazine, styling by Tyler Cunningham)

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News Round-Up: November 26, 2018

Some news items you might have missed:

• Talk about Man-Crush Monday – a reader sent me the pic above and woof! How could I not post it? Anyone know who the hottie is?

• An Australian student came out to his Catholic school during an assembly packed full of his classmates and teachers to thunderous applause.

• Daryll Rowe, who intentionally spread HIV to other men through Grindr hookups, has been sentenced to life in prison with a minimum of 12 years to be served.

• Model Rain Dove, whose birth certificate is marked female but now identifies at non-binary, was maced in a ladies room by a mother who decided Rain didn’t belong in the bathroom.

• Jury selection has begun in the trial of Neo-Nazi James Alex Fields Jr. who brutally ran down counter-protesters at the Neo-nazi rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, on August 12, 2017, killing Heather Heyer and injuring several more.

• RuPaul and VH1 have teamed up with the New York Gay Men’s Chorus to create a holiday anthem like no other in advance of the upcoming RuPaul’s Drag Race All-Stars 4 premiering December 14 on VH1.