Just because Pride Month has come to an end, doesn’t mean we should stop celebrating the LGBTQ-plus community, including the people who’ve bravely open up about their sexuality this year.
So far in 2019, some of our favorite Black faces have opened up about their sexuality, sharing their experiences and coming forward to declare that they are members of the LGBTQ-plus community.
These stories are very important.
From Willow Smith coming out as bisexual to Drag Race finalist Shea Couleé opening up about their gender identity, hopefully, these stories provide a little spark for those seeking the courage to be themselves.
01
Willow Smith
During a recent episode of Red Table Talk, Smith opened up about her sexuality, revealing that she is bisexual and polyamorous.”I love men and women equally, and so I would definitely want one man, one woman,” she said. “I feel like I could be polyfidelitous with those two people.”
02
Lil Nas X
The “Old Town Road” rapper came out on the last day of Pride Month with a series of tweets revealing that he is gay. However, some fans believe that the rapper may identify as bisexual after he tweeted, “Just cuz I’m gay don’t mean I’m not straight.”
03
Jerrod Carmichael
Comedian and writer Jerrod Carmichael not only opened up about his sexuality earlier this year on his HBO special Home Videos, but he recently spoke with The Breakfast Club about it too. In the special, Carmichael revealed that he has hooked up with men and told The Breakfast Club, “It was a conversation with my mom. I said it…I don’t want that to feel exploitative. Home Videos shouldn’t feel that, it’s like we all playin’ and [if] we all naked in this thing – then, we’re all naked in the thing. And it’s my mom, and I was scared to see what she would think of it in that moment.”
04
Shea Couleé
RuPaul’s Drag Race star Shea Couleé opened up about their gender identity in May to them., revealing that they identify as non-binary. “At least for me in my personal life, being non-binary is just a lot easier. It feels less forced,” they said.
05
Anthony Bowens
Pictured above with boyfriend Michael Pavano, wrestler Anthony Bowens came out as gay in January. Bowens had previously come out as bisexual but in a video posted to YouTube, explained that he didn’t feel comfortable identifying as bisexual because he could only envision himself with a man. “I identified myself as bisexual because I really didn’t know much about the LGBTQ community,” he explained. “I didn’t dive in that much because I was still closeted…I prefer to be labeled now as gay.”
