The journey to come out of the closet is one of the toughest journeys faced by our fellow friends from the LGBTQ+ community. The struggle of acceptance by family members and friends would definitely make this an emotionally taxing milestone in their lives.
Now that 2021 is coming to an end, we’ve compiled a list of celebrities who’ve come out of the closet in this calendar year. We tip our hats off to these public figures who have pledged to live their truth out loud.
Sophie Turner
The “Game of Thrones” actress, who played Sansa Stark in the critically acclaimed HBO series, wrote; “Time isn’t straight, and neither am I” on her Instagram Story on 2nd June. Adding on to the post, were 2 stickers stating “Bi Pride” and “Move, I’m Gay”. Her IG Story garnered a lot of attention from netizens as it seems as though she was coming out of the closet as bisexual.
Alexandra Shipp
The 28-year-old star of “Love, Simon” (2018) and “X-Men: Apocalypse” (2016) came out through an emotional and heart-felt post on 2nd June. In her post, the actress stated that she was overwhelmed with fear and was indeed struggling with not only her sexuality but her femininity too. Shipp didn’t specify her sexuality via her post but she had declared that she would be celebrating her true self not just on Pride Month but everyday for the rest of her life.
Larry Saperstein
I have T minus 30 days to figure out how to do drag so I can turn out a look before the end of the month 🤪 (#HappyPrideMonth I love you ALL SO MUCH 🏳️🌈)
— Larry Saperstein (@LarrySaperstein) June 1, 2021
Larry Saperstein, notable for his role as Big Red in “High School Musical: The Musical: The Series”, came out as bisexual in a casual Tik Tok video on 2nd June. The young actor then took to Twitter to reveal that in honour of Pride Month, he’s working on a drag look that he hopes to surprise his followers with.
Demi Lovato
Demi Lovato announced that they will now identify as non-binary and would now use the pronouns, they/them, in May 2021. They stated, “Today is a day I’m so happy to share more of my life with you all. I am proud to let you know that I identify as non-binary and will officially be changing my pronouns to they/them moving forward. I’m still learning and coming into myself, and I don’t claim to be an expert or a spokesperson. Sharing this with you now opens another level of vulnerability for me.”
In March 2021, Lovato also spoke about her sexuality on “The Joe Rogan Experience” podcast. “It feels weird to me when I get called a ‘she’ or a ‘her,'” they explained. “I understand that people might have a hard time adjusting to it because it is something new, but I want to encourage people to keep trying. I understand that it’s a process to get used to. Sometimes I still mess up myself, but it’s OK.” They went on: “I’m still, every day, stepping more and more into the identity that feels right to me. Which is my pronouns being ‘they’/’them.'”
Ezra Furman
Musician Ezra Furman, who garnered popularity after the release of her indie-folk rock songs namely, ”Every Feeling” and “I Wanna be your Girlfriend”, came out as a transgender woman via Instagram on 19th April. She has also revealed that she’s been a mother for 2 years. She stated that when her baby was born, she had approximately zero examples of trans women raising children.
Colton Underwood
Stating that he’s been running away from himself for a very long time, “The Bachelor” star, Colton Underwood came out as gay in April on “Good Morning America”, 2 years after appearing on the heterosexual dating show.
Joshua Bassett
The star of “High School Musical: The Musical: The Series”, took to Twitter after rumours circulated surrounding the Disney Channel star’s sexuality. He said, “My entire life people have told me my sexuality. People have shamed me for things they know nothing about. I want to say thank you to those of you who stand for love and acceptance.”
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He added, “Love who you love shamelessly. It’s ok to still be figuring out who you are. Life’s too short to let ignorance and hatred win. I choose love,” and put a rainbow of hearts at the end.
Kehlani
The “Bad News” singer, took to her Instagram Live over the Easter weekend, to come out as a lesbian after previously, coming out as queer and pansexual. She said, “You wanna know what’s new about me? I finally know I’m a lesbian.”
David Archuleta
Singer-songwriter, David Archuleta who first rose to fame when he competed and was placed second during the seventh season of the American reality singing competition, “American Idol”, came out as a member of the LGBTQ+ community in an emotional post on Instagram.
He wrote, “I like to keep to myself but also thought this was important to share because I know so many other people from religious upbringings feel the same way.” Adding on to that, he said that he probably most closely identifies on the bisexual spectrum.
JoJo Siwa
JoJo Siwa came out as queer in January 2021 and a cover story with People Magazine in April revealed that she’s pansexual. She said, “Technically I would say that I am pansexual because that’s how I have always been my whole life is just like, my human is my human.”
Utada Hikaru
On an Instagram live stream on Saturday, 26th June, singer Utada Hikaru, one of the bestselling artists in Japan, came out as non-binary. Utada’s imaginary best friend, a teddy bear stuffed toy named Kuma, was also said to be gay.
In early June, Utada, via the Instagram account, @kuma_power (named after the bear), shared how the traditional gender markers make her feel uncomfortable. She stated, “I’m sick of being asked if I’m ‘Miss or Missus’ or choosing between ‘Miss/Mrs/Ms’ for everyday things. It makes me uncomfortable to be identified so markedly by my marital status or sex, and I don’t relate to any of those prefixes.” The 38-year-old singer also said, “Every time, I feel like I’m forced to misrepresent myself. I long for an alternative option, one that anybody of any gender or social standing could use.”
I keep seeing "why is there such a big fuss over celebrities coming out?"
celebrities have a ton of influence, so when they come out, it helps normalize queerness to the general populace, even just a little. we must keep celebrating these moments to culturally foster acceptance.
— izy @ REEDS on WEBTOON ❤️ (@zzsleeps) June 28, 2021
These celebrity- coming out stories are definitely important as it gives the power for others to be able to do the same and to be their true selves, fearlessly.
Source: MSN.
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