#PRIDEAll of the Very Emotional Reasons Celebrities Publicly Came Clean About Their Sexuality

Jun 23, 2017 12:44 pm

By Alex Riccardi

Pride month – the month that celebrates the LGBTQ community – is in full swing. June has always been the month that we honor our LGBTQ friends because it is when the Stonewall riots took place in Manhattan in 1969. That event was really the turning point for the Gay Liberation Movement. It is in June that we reflect on the history of gay rights with parades, picnics, memorials, tributes, concerts and of course, love.

RELATED: Teen Wolf Star Colton Haynes Publicly Comes Out as Gay For the First Time

In light of Pride, the editors here at J-14 decided to gather the stories of your favorite celebrities speaking about why they decided to come clean about their sexuality. Their words are inspiring and we can't help but applaud them in sharing what is assumed to be a very difficult time in their lives.

They are all courageous, brave and motivating. With their stories, they have shown their fans and the world that it is okay to be who you are. It's this idea that no one should have to hide because showing your true colors is really what life is about.

RELATED: The Most Shocking Things Stars Have Revealed About Their Past Relationships

Everyone from Sam Smith to Troye Sivan to Raven to Ingrid Nilsen has a story. Their stories are all real, raw and very emotional. And, of course, Pride month is the perfect time to celebrate their journeys and exactly why they decided to come out when they did!

Click through the gallery and check out why these celebrities came clean about their sexuality.

RELATED: Celebrities Who Have Publicly Come Out as Gay

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1 of 11

Sam

Sam Smith

"I came out when I was like 4 years old. My mom said she knew when I was like three. So I didn’t have to actually properly come out."

However, he publicly came out before his album release because "It felt like a brave thing to do as well I wanted to do it before because if I did it afterwards people probably would have thought I was lying just to sell records…My aim is to tell people how good it’s been for me so that, hopefully, gay men or parents with gay children can look at my story and think, 'Wow, that’s how it should be. That’s what we can work towards.'"

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Troye

Troye Sivan

"This is not something that I’m ashamed of and it’s not something that anyone should have to be ashamed of. I didn't want to sign my record deal 'closeted,' so I came out right before I signed my deal," he says. "It allowed me from day one to write music that was completely honest."

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Amandala

Amandla Stenberg

"It's a really, really hard thing to be silenced and it's deeply bruising to fight against your identity and to mold yourself into shapes that you just shouldn't in. As someone who identifies as a black, bisexual woman, I've been through it and it hurts and it's awkward and it's uncomfortable."

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Shannon

Shannon Purser

Shannon wrote a message on Twitter after previously tweeting criticism about shipping culture after two girls were seen kissing in the Riverdale trailer. The girls were never going to be an item but the trailer made people think they were. After all of this, Shannon had to address her tweet and it led to her own coming out.

"I don’t normally do this, but I figure now is as good a time as any to get personal. I’ve only just recently come out as bisexual to my family and friends. It’s something I am still processing and trying to understand and I don’t like talking about it too much. I’m very very new to the LGBT community. I have never heard the term "queerbaiting" in my life until today. That being said, I have never ever wanted to alienate anyone and my tweet was thoughtless. I wasn’t referring to all the beronica shippers, just the ones who had been particularly cruel to me personally. Either way, it wasn’t a wise or kind thing to say and I’m disappointed in myself especially as a Christian who has always been taught to speak love to others. Thank you to all the people who kindly reached out to me and educated me about the reality your feelings about queerbaiting and I apologize to those who were hurt. Much love – Shannon."

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Colton

Colton Haynes

"I wasn’t ready to be back in the headlines. I didn’t feel like I owed anyone anything. I think in due time, everyone has to make those decisions when they’re ready, and I wasn’t yet. But I felt like I was letting people down by not coming forward with the rest of what I should have said…People want you to be that GQ image that you put out, but people don’t realize what it’s like to act 24 hours a day. I’d go home and I was still acting. People who are so judgmental about those who are gay or different don’t realize that acting 24 hours a day is the most exhausting thing in the world…It took me so long to get to this point, but I’m doing so good. I’m happier than I’ve ever been, and healthier than I’ve ever been, and that’s what I care about."

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Screen shot 2017 06 23 at 12 35 23 pm

Lauren Jauregui

Lauren came out as a response to Donald Trump's supporters. She said she's a "bisexual Cuban-American woman and I am so proud of it…[I am] proud that the sex between my thighs provides a strength and resilience in me that only other women can feel, that my body curves in ways that allow me to create life within me. I will gladly take the label of ‘b-tch’ and ‘problematic’ for speaking my mind the same way any man would be admired and respected for doing."

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Bella

Bella Thorne

"I was like, okay, this is gonna get blown up into this and that, but you do need more people out there being open and honest. My fans, they need that. It really wasn’t meant to be a big deal, it was kind of just meant to be like, ‘Yo, by the way, a little side note: I’m bisexual, if you didn’t already know. If it wasn’t obvious."

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Ingrid

Ingrid Nilsen

"Coming out was the stepping-stone to everything else that is meaningful and important to me. It gave me the courage to explore, live, and learn about myself in a more fractured light. The more I let myself sink into that self-discovery, the more I realized how much I wanted to share my experiences and try to make a change for future generations. I say this pretty often in life, but I strive to plant the seeds in a garden that I may never see."

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Ryan

Ryan Beatty

"proud to be a raging homosexual…it's taken 20 years of suffocating in the closet for me to become comfortable enough to say it,” he added. “but now I can finally breathe. i did it!…damn. i’m so grateful to have friends and family that support me and just want me to be happy,” he wrote. “that’s unconditional love. thank you to anyone who’s reached out to me with the supportive words. I’m so happy."

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Raven

Raven

"I never thought I would come out because my personal life didn't matter. It was only what was supposed to be sold as the Raven-Symone brand.

But she said concealing it, "that eats at your soul…."I didn't have to have a 'beard.' I didn't have to have a man standing by me. I felt lighter, I felt like I could go out and not have to put on 17 different hats to be myself."

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Mara

Mara Wilson

Because of the Orlando nightclub shooting, Mara decided to come out on Twitter, "Me at a gay club when I was eighteen. I feel embarrassed looking at it now. Being a ‘straight girl’ where I clearly didn’t belong, but I will say, I felt so welcomed there. I have never had a better experience at a club than I did then. Great music and people. And one of my friends met his partner that night…I haven’t been to one since college, except once when a friend brought me along. I didn’t feel like I belonged there. But the LGBTQ community has always felt like home, especially a few years later when I, uh, learned something about myself. So thank you."