12 Times Celebrities Shared Their LGBTQ+ Coming Out Experiences, And Proved It's Never Too Late To Live Your Truth

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I don't cognize who needs to perceive this again, but practice matters! Full stop. There mightiness beryllium a young, queer kid retired determination acrophobic to unrecorded their information until they spot their favourite celebrities unrecorded their lives retired large and proud. I cognize that was the lawsuit for me.

Here are 12 Black LGBTQ+ celebrities' coming-out experiences that helped maine proudly alert retired of the closet with a proverbial rainbow cape:

1. Grammy-Award winning singer/songwriter Frank Ocean famously penned a heartfelt open letter connected Tumblr successful 2012, up of the merchandise of his archetypal large album, Channel Orange, successful which helium revealed his archetypal emotion with a man. "what I'm astir to station is for anyone who cares to read. it was intended to capable the convey you's conception successful my medium credits, but with each the rumors going around.. I figured it'd beryllium bully clarify...," helium began.

Frank continued, "Before penning this I'd told immoderate radical my story. I'm definite these radical kept maine alive, kept maine safe.. sincerely. These are the folks I wanna convey from the level of my heart. Everyone of you knows who you are.. large humans. Probably Angels. I don't cognize what happens now, and that's alrite. I don't person immoderate secrets I request kept anymore."

In the once-surprising letter, Frank explained that, ultimately, the narration with the enigma antheral didn't enactment out, but it changed his position connected life. "I'll retrieve who you were and however we've some changed and stayed the same," helium said. "I've ne'er had much repsect for beingness and surviving than I person close now."

2. On the past time of Pride Month successful 2019, rapper Lil Nas X came retired arsenic gay, pointing toward his opus "c7osure" from his 2nd EP titled 7. "some of y'all already know, immoderate of y'all don't care, immoderate of y'all not gone fwm nary more," helium wrote successful a June 30, 2019 tweet. "but earlier this period ends one privation y'all to perceive intimately to c7osure."

The lyrics of "c7osure" began, "True say, I want, and I request to fto go, usage my clip to beryllium free." The post-chorus of the way stated: "Ain't nary much actin', antheral that forecast accidental I should conscionable fto maine grow/No much reddish airy for maine baby, lone green, I gotta go/Pack my past up successful the back, oh, fto my aboriginal instrumentality ahold/This is what I gotta do, can't beryllium regrettin' erstwhile I'm old."

If radical were picking up what Lil Nas X was putting down, helium shared different tweet with the artwork from "c7osure" that read, "deadass thought one made it obvious," seemingly referring to his sexuality.

3. Emmy-award-winning histrion Niecy Nash-Betts revealed her narration with a photograph of her and woman Jessica Betts successful a astonishment Instagram post successful August 2020, alongside the caption "Mrs. Carol Denise Betts 💍 @jessicabettsmusic #LoveWins🌈 📸 @robertector."

In a illustration for Out, Niecy shared however she didn't initially spot the quality of her wedding arsenic a "coming out." But, the When They See Us histrion aboriginal acknowledged that she understands however the practice of their narration "matters" astatine the extremity of the day.

"It's very, precise powerful, we've learned," Niecy said. "Because immoderate clip we spell to an lawsuit that is particularly for queer people, idiosyncratic ever comes up and brings it up," she said. "I deliberation authenticity is 1 of the astir beauteous attributes you could ever have. To conscionable beryllium 100 percent who you are and let radical to spot your happiness, you cognize what I mean? And spot that I'm successful a concern that brings maine joy, and for that to beryllium celebrated, particularly astatine specified a clip arsenic this, is simply a beauteous thing."

4. Hunger Games and Star Wars: The Acolyte histrion Amandla Stenberg took implicit Teen Vogue's Snapchat successful 2016 and officially came out arsenic bisexual. "It's a truly really hard happening to beryllium silenced and it's profoundly bruising to combat against your individuality and to mold yourself into shapes that you conscionable shouldn't beryllium in," she said.

Amandla continued, "As idiosyncratic who identifies arsenic a black, bisexual pistillate I've been done it, and it hurts, and it's awkward and it's uncomfortable…but past I realized due to the fact that of Solange [Knowles] and Ava DuVernay and Willow [Smith] and each the achromatic girls watching this close now, that there's perfectly thing to change."

"We cannot beryllium suppressed," she said. "We are meant to explicit our joyousness and our emotion and our tears and beryllium large and bold and decidedly not casual to swallow…Here I americium being myself and it's decidedly hard and susceptible and it's decidedly a process but I'm learning and I'm growing."

In a 2016 Teen Vogue profile, Amandla explained wherefore she publically identifies arsenic bisexual. "I would besides usage the connection pansexual to picture my sexuality. The happening is I usage the connection bisexual conscionable due to the fact that I consciousness similar for radical who don't needfully cognize that vocabulary… it's easier to accidental I'm bi," she added. "So, I recognize that erasure piece."

5. "Make Me Feel" vocalist Janelle Monáe came retired arsenic a pansexual successful a 2018 interrogation with Rolling Stone. "Being a queer achromatic pistillate successful America," they began, "someone who has been successful relationships with some men and women – I see myself to beryllium a escaped ass motherfucker."

Janelle erstwhile alluded to being bisexual, but their effect evolved arsenic they learned what pansexuality means. "Later I work astir pansexuality and was like, 'Oh, these are things that I place with too,'" Janelle said. "I'm unfastened to learning much astir who I am."

When speaking of their 3rd workplace medium Dirty Computer, which includes themes of sexuality and identity, Janelle said, "I privation young girls, young boys, non-binary, gay, straight, queer radical who are having a hard clip dealing with their sexuality, dealing with feeling ostracized oregon bullied for conscionable being their unsocial selves, to cognize that I spot you."

6. Writer and histrion Lena Waithe drew from her real-life coming-out acquisition arsenic inspiration for the Emmy-winning occurrence of Netflix's Master of None, successful which she portrayed Denise, who came retired to her parent arsenic a teen connected Thanksgiving. In the episode, her parent (played by Angela Bassett) says, "I conscionable don't privation beingness to beryllium hard for you. It's hard capable being a Black pistillate successful this world. Now you privation to adhd thing other to that?"

Speaking with Out Magazine, Lena explained however the episode's communicative resonated with audiences. "People truly respond to this character, and I deliberation that's a triumph. My ma volition spot this. Her biggest interest was who's going to know, but present that I'm a nationalist figure, she's chill astir it."

Lena expressed the content that writers with underrepresented identities person an work to stock their stories. "In this world, we're often silenced," she said. "Particularly arsenic a achromatic woman, you're told to unopen up and beryllium down. We've been silenced for hundreds of years. No more."

"We've ne'er truly seen a achromatic lesbian travel retired connected television, arsenic acold arsenic I tin remember," she continued. "That's important. I'm a number woman, truthful I subordinate precise overmuch to that. Coming from being educated successful movie and TV and being a spectator my full life, I didn't get galore images of my people's story. That is 1 of my goals arsenic a filmmaker: to marque that a much mean acquisition for the satellite to see."

7. Wicked histrion Cynthia Erivo opened up connected a September 2022 occurrence of The Kelly Clarkson Show, revealing she wasn't afloat capable to clasp her individuality arsenic a teen due to the fact that she didn't person the connection to recognize her sexuality. "I don't deliberation I had the connection to adjacent cognize what was going on. It's travel overmuch aboriginal to maine now, and it's fantastic to conscionable beryllium me, really," she told Kelly.

"And it made abstraction to conscionable benignant of fto spell of immoderate I was hiding," Cynthia continued. "I guess, you know, you don't recognize you're doing that, putting truthful overmuch vigor down it. And erstwhile you instrumentality the vigor distant from concealing thing that is truthful a portion of you, that you can't fell it, you tin enactment it elsewhere."

"I deliberation sometimes we presume that each queer idiosyncratic knows [their sexuality] from the beginning. Most of america do, beryllium we don't needfully cognize the language. Until idiosyncratic says, 'Hey these are words that you mightiness privation to use. These are expressions that you mightiness privation to use,'" she added.

8. Raven Symoné, who was a celebrated histrion since she was 3 years old, wasn't ever acceptable to travel out. In a 2013 interrogation with Them, the That's So Raven prima revealed that a speech with Demond Green, her costar successful the Broadway accumulation of Sister Act, acceptable her connected the way to sharing her story.

On August 2, 2013, Raven broke the net erstwhile she tweeted, "I yet get married! Yay government! So arrogant of you," aft Proposition 8 was overturned and California legalized same-sex marriage.

According to Raven, it was Demond's enactment that that truly led her to travel out. "I retrieve helium sat maine down once, and helium was like, 'You're going to person to travel out.' And I was like, 'No, I'm not,'" she said successful the interview. Demond told her she could beryllium a uncommon LGBTQ+ relation model, to which Raven argued that she didn't get to person one.

"I'm like, 'Why I gotta beryllium the martyr? That's not fair," Raven said. "I didn't similar having that speech with him." Then, she joked that the odor of the fried chickenhearted changed everything. "[Demond] sat maine down and told maine that if I'm going to beryllium successful the presumption I'm successful with the sanction that I have, there's definite things that I'm going to person to bash that I don't privation to do," Raven said.

9. Emmy, Grammy, and Tony victor Billy Porter talked to Essence astir yet embracing his individuality contempt the stigma of being openly cheery successful the '80s. "I spent years hiding who I was. Now, I unrecorded retired large due to the fact that that's the lone mode to beryllium free," helium said.

"For me, coming retired wasn't conscionable astir declaring my sexuality—it was astir reclaiming my power. Silence equals death," Billy recalled, coming retired arsenic cheery successful 1985. "The dehumanization of queer radical inactive happens due to the fact that of silence. Coming retired is astir nary longer being silent. It requires accountability—both from the radical proceeding the accusation and from those giving it. We indispensable travel retired truthful we cognize who our allies are and who are not, truthful we tin recognize however to validate and prevention ourselves."

Billy, a first-generation activistic station the civilian rights movement, utilized his platforms arsenic an creator for years to combat stigma against HIV, which helium was diagnosed with successful 2007. "I lone cognize however to combat for justice," helium said.

Billy explained the struggles of increasing up wrong a precise spiritual community, which archetypal led to abandonment aft helium came out. "For the archetypal 25 years of my life, I tried to beryllium idiosyncratic else. Now, I get to beryllium this thing—unapologetically," helium said. "Come retired truthful you tin unrecorded freely. So you tin cognize who loves you for who you are. Because that's wherever the healing starts."

10. In 2011, erstwhile CNN anchor Don Lemon was interviewed by the New York Times astir his memoir, Transparent, and his prime to stock that helium was cheery publically successful his ain narrative. "I abhor hypocrisy. I deliberation if you're going to beryllium successful the concern of news, and telling radical the truth, of trying to shed airy successful acheronian places, past you've got to beryllium honest. You've got to person the aforesaid rules for yourself arsenic you bash for everyone else."

While Don's intersexual predisposition wasn't a concealed to his colleagues, the thought of a publication revealing the information was terrifying for respective reasons. "It's rather antithetic for an African-American male," Don said. "It's astir the worst happening you tin beryllium successful achromatic culture. You're taught you person to beryllium a man; you person to beryllium masculine. In the achromatic assemblage they deliberation you tin commune the cheery away."

"I deliberation it would beryllium large if everybody could beryllium out. But it's specified a idiosyncratic choice. People person to bash it astatine their ain speed. I respect that. I bash person to accidental that the much radical who travel out, the amended it is for everyone, surely for the Tyler Clementis of the world."

11. Emmy-winning comedian Wanda Sykes came retired astatine 44, good established successful her vocation arsenic an histrion and entertainer. In 2008, Wanda gave an impromptu code astatine an equality rally successful Las Vegas astir Proposition 8, a now-overturned amendment that lone recognized matrimony betwixt a antheral and a woman.

Speaking with OprahMag.com, Wanda said, "I felt similar I had to accidental something. You're inspecting my life, the beingness that I have? You're saying that my matrimony isn't legal? That's erstwhile I said alright, it's important to talk out."

Wanda continued, "Also, I wanted to enactment a look connected who that was affecting, not conscionable achromatic cheery men. There are women. There are mothers. There are existent radical progressive successful these votes that impact lives and kids. After I gave my code successful Las Vegas, by the clip I went backmost to the hotel, it was connected TV and I was like, 'Oh, okay. I'm out.' It was like, 'Oh, cool.' I already said what was the truth."

"I cognize however almighty tv tin be," she added, referencing the summation successful LGBTQ+ stories successful media. "It's important for america to amusement however important LGBTQ+ practice is and however it tin alteration minds successful society."

12. And finally, there's Emmy Award-winning histrion and playwright Colman Domingo's coming-out story, which was truthful affirmative that immoderate radical recovered A Boy and His Soul, the one-person amusement helium created astir it, unbelievable. "The professional doubted the validity of my story," helium said successful a 2021 interrogation with Advocate. "She was a achromatic woman, and she claimed that successful her 'research,' it was precise hard for a Black antheral to travel retired arsenic cheery successful an inner-city vicinity due to the fact that it meant rejection. So she didn't judge it."

Colman was precise forthcoming astir the supportive dynamic of his family. "It was a nurturing environment, and I was loved by my ma and stepdad, and my sister and brothers," helium told the publication. "The vicinity was community-centric. We were each determination to enactment each other. I couldn't person done each the things I've done successful my beingness without each that emotion and enactment I had erstwhile I was increasing up."

The Euphoria histrion explained that helium archetypal came retired to his different member connected his 21st birthday, and yet his sister aft graduating from assemblage and moving to San Francisco. At his sister's advice, helium called his parents truthful they could find retired straight from him. "They told maine they loved maine and accepted me, and that they wanted to amended recognize me," helium said. It was the acceptance from his household that empowered Colman to beryllium honorable astir his sexuality passim his career.

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