He’s living his truth! Pretty Little Liars actor Tyler Blackburn just came out as queer in a recent interview with The Advocate.
“I’m queer. I’ve identified as bisexual since a teenager,” the 32-year-old star said in the interview, explaining that he has always felt he had an “underlying curiosity” about men.
He added, “I heard so many things from within the queer community about bisexuality being a cop-out or bullshit or the easy way out or something, and that always stuck with me because I felt the pressure from all sides to have [my sexuality] figured out and I think for the longest time, I suppressed more of my attraction to men. It wasn’t until my late 20s, towards the end of Pretty Little Liars, that I really allowed myself to go there and not just wonder about it or lust over it, but experience that vulnerability and experience the emotional aspect of what it is to be bisexual.”
The Ravenswood star went on to explain why he is opening up about his sexuality now.
“I just want to live my truth and feel OK with experiencing love and experiencing self-love,” he said. “Yes, there is an element of, I want to feel like it’s OK to hold my boyfriend’s hand as I’m walking down the street, and not worry. Is someone going to look and be like, ‘Whoa, is that guy from that show? I didn’t know that [he was queer.]’ I want to own my space now.”
Tyler also opened up about his struggle with getting bullied growing up.
“I got bullied a lot by other boys [growing up], and I just felt like my soul was slowly being taken from me,” he continued. “I ended up eating lunch in my biology classroom in 10th grade, and I had no one to talk to. You form a shell around yourself for protection. And you start to make decisions based off of things outside of what you want and who you are. I stopped doing so many of the things that I loved doing because it felt safer. That right there is the outcome of oppression. When you literally have to mute who you are in order to feel safe. That’s soul-crushing.”
Tyler has come such a long way, and nothing makes us happier than seeing him live his truth!
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