Tag: coming out

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Former Pro-Boxer Yusaf Mack Comes Out As Bisexual

Last week, Philly.com reported that former pro-boxer Yusaf Mack had participated in a gay porn scene, he quickly accused the porn company – Dog Pound – of drugging him because he had no memory of shooting the scene.

(Never mind that a second gay porn scene was found with a seemingly enthusiastic Mack taking part).

After being threatened with a lawsuit for his slanderous accusations against the porn company, Mack issued this statement today saying he is, in fact, bisexual.

“This is an issued public apology from my heart. I want to address a few situations with the first being the false claims I made about being drugged during the Dog Pound adult film. I have never spoke negatively about the company that produced the film although the claim to have been given a drug by someone during set was a lie. I was completely aware and fully conscious during the film.

“The second situation, which further explain the first, concerns my lifestyle. I did participate in the adult film because at the time I needed money but also because I am a bisexual man. Meaning I enjoy safely being intimate with whomever I choose.

“Lastly I would like to address the reason I lied. My life was completely destroyed once it had been outed that I participated in a gay film. I selfishly tried to cover the truth and remain in denial, rather than accept the fact that I was leading a double life secretly.

“After reflecting on the mess I had made I realized that I hurt a lot of my loved ones and the people, my fans, I cared about the most were left disappointed and confused. It was unfair and time to come clean. I want to say sorry to my children and my ex fiancé, I am so sorry that I was a coward and hid a huge part of my life from you all. To the ones that were once my friends and now feel disgust, I’m sorry, but this is my life. I’m not looking for sympathy or even understanding, I’ve kept this secret for a long time. It is time to move forward and this is me walking in my truth.

“There are other men and women that are set up in the similar situations and I just hope I can be inspiration to be just be you. The extreme taboo and harsh criticism of living a same sex lifestyle, especially as an African American male, makes it hard to be completely honest and comfortable within yourself. But I had to remember that I am a champ & I can fight and will fight through this. I am more than my sexual orientation. To all of my supporters I thank you dearly.”

Last week, Mack said he agreed to do a porn shoot, but told Philly.com it was supposed to be with women. “I think, ‘It’s about to go down.’ I needed a drink or something,” Mack said over the phone. “They gave me a pill and a shot of vodka. I took the pill down with the vodka.”

I’m guessing the threat of a lawsuit caused him to come clean about the episode.

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Tweet Of The Day: Gus Kenworthy

Olympic silver medalist freeskier Gus Kenworthy received what looks to be almost universal support when he recently came out.

But, you know, there’s always going to the occasional troll. Check the dumb-ass question posed to Kenworthy on Twitter, and then his oh-so-perfect” answer.

Just to recap – Olympic medalist, handsome, smart, amazing abs and not afraid to go toe-to-toe with an internet troll.

Man, Kenworthy rocks.

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Ellen DeGeneres Says She Never Thought She’d Come Out

In a new clip for Oprah’s Master Class series, Ellen DeGeneres shares that she never thought she would come out, and certainly never so publicly as on a TV show.

Degeneres shares the story of attending a course at the Esalen Institute near Big Sur, California called “Changing the Inner Dialogue.” After discovering that her fear was that no one would love her or allow her to be famous once they knew she was gay, DeGeneres realized that the shame she was feeling was making her pretend to be someone she wasn’t.

The acclaimed, Emmy-nominated series “Oprah’s Master Class” tells the stories you’ve never heard from the people you thought you knew best.

Find OWN on TV at http://www.oprah.com/FindOWN

(h/t Queerty)

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Hunky Olympic Shier Gus Kenworthy Comes Out

U.S. Olympic skier and total hottie, Gus Kenworthy, who’s won in just about every major freeskier event in the world –  AFP World Championships overall titles in 2011, 2012, and 2013, won silver at the Olympics in Sochi, Russia and won his first medal, a bronze, at the X Games in Tignes, France in the slopestyle event – came out on social media and in an interview with ESPN:

Gus Kenworthy started coming out to his family and closest friends nearly two years ago. His mom said she knew. His brother said he was proud. His best friend 
voiced unrelenting support. And if Gus Kenworthy were an average 24-year-old, the announcement — the story — might have ended there.

But Gus Kenworthy is not an average 24-year-old. He is the top freeskier on the planet, an Olympic medalist, a face of the X Games. He is an elite athlete competing in the world of action sports, where sponsors — and income — are inextricably linked to image. In other words, he is an athlete with a lot to lose. But Gus Kenworthy is ready to tell that world, his sport, his truth. And so, as we sit down together in Los Angeles in September, he begins the only way he knows how: “I guess I should start by saying, ‘I’m gay.’”

Congratulations Gus! You’re coming out will inspire millions.

The response from the Olympic world was universally positive:

A photo posted by gus kenworthy (@guskenworthy) on Jun 30, 2015 at 9:43pm PDT

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Icelandic Kids TV Show Talks On Being Gay

Long-running Icelandic kids’ TV show, Stundin Okkar, on the air since 1996, featured a non confrontational scene in which former Eurovision singer Páll Óskar is asked that fateful childhood question, “Do you have a girlfriend?”

The scene played out exactly as it should, with simple, honest truth.

“Actually, no I don’t… and I’m never going to have any girlfriends. I don’t get crushes on girls. I get crushes on guys, because I’m gay.”

When asked “When did you know you were attracted to guys and not girls?”, he replies, “When did you know you were attracted to guys and not girls?”

“Some guys like other guys, some guys like girls. Some girls like guys, some girls like other girls. You don’t decide what makes your heart beat, it just beats.

“Think about what it would be like to live in a world where it didn’t matter who you were attracted to! We just need to create that world – that’s our responsibility.”

(h/t Towleroad)

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Over Six Million People Have Come Out On Facebook

(graphic via Advocate)

In the past year, the number of folks coming out on Facebook has nearly tripled.

In 2015 alone, nearly one million LGBTs have announced to the world who they truly are on the Book of Face.

Via Gay Star News:

Over the 12 months, about 800,000 Americans came out on the social network, which defines coming out as updating their profile to express a same-gender attraction or specifying a custom gender.

That means the number of people coming out on Facebook per day is nearly three times what it was a year ago.

‘The most obvious increase is seen following the aftermath of the Supreme Court decision in Obergefell v Hodges,’ the report states.

‘On a typical day, one out of every ten people who change their “interested in” status on Facebook do so to reflect a same-gender interest. On the day of the Supreme Court ruling, this ratio was double, one out of every five people.’

In total, 6 million Americans have come out on Facebook, with 78% of these people having done so since the beginning of 2012.

Come out, come out, wherever you are… 🙂

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Coming Out: “The Saint Of Dry Creek”

This is special in so many ways.

Clip description:

“Patrick Haggerty grew up the son of a dairy farmer in rural Dry Creek, Washington, during the 1950s. As a teenager, Pat began to understand he was gay—something he thought he was hiding well. 

 “But one day, after performing at a school assembly, Pat learned that his father could see him much more clearly than he realized.”

“The Saint of Dry Creek” online release is presented in partnership with the It Gets Better Project.

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Chris Burns Becomes First Out Division 1 Men’s Basketball Coach

Chris Burns, assistant basketball coach for Bryant University, becomes the first openly gay Division 1 men’s basketball coach via a heartfelt first person essay written for Outsports.

Burns shares his journey from closeted New Hampshire high school basketball to successful college player, and now assistant coach. He includes how he felt about his first boyfriend, who was also in basketball, and how being closeted kept him detached from everyone around him.

Ultimately, it was the historic SCOTUS ruling this past June on marriage equality that gave him the courage to reveal his truth to the world.

Just part of Chris’ compelling essay:

That day, when the Supreme Court released its decision, was when I knew beyond anything else: This is all bigger than myself.

There is no greater feeling than being a part of something bigger than just you. That’s what has always made sports so special for me.

Since I started telling people in college basketball over the last few months, I’ve realized my fears were far worse than reality. I’ve realized that people, for the most part, are human beings first. For a guy who’s relatively cynical and can be negative, the reactions of people in my sport and in my life have shut me right up and reenergized my hope in the human spirit, in empathy.

You’ve got to give the majority of people credit for changing attitudes and credit to all the people who have worked to make that possible. Things have gone fairly well for me so far.

Like the people before me, I hope my story empowers someone, even if it’s just one person. But it’s a process for everyone.

My advice: Take your time and be comfortable. Everyone’s personal journey is special and unique, and no one should feel pressure to do anything they aren’t comfortable with.

But always know this: When the time comes to share your true self, you will feel so much love and relief and hope and freedom. It’s a truly special feeling, and I just can’t thank enough every single person who has helped guide and support me to this point.

Chris shared with USA Today how it all went down when he came out to his team:

“There are parts of this business that lead me to believe what I’m about to tell you is not acceptable here,” the assistant coach says. “This is something I struggle with. It’s made me consider giving up coaching. It’s made me think I’m not supposed to be here.”

Players are wide-eyed. Burns takes a deep breath.

“I’m a gay man,” he says, at last.

He goes on to say he hopes none of this will affect the players negatively, that he wants it to unite them. Bryant’s players surround him with hugs. They tell him they love him. He can exhale.

Congratulations Chris! Your coming out will empower many, many more closeted folks to find their own courage in time. And many of them will no doubt be athletes who need a positive role model to look to.

Thanks for stepping up and being that person.