“Openness may not completely disarm prejudice, but it’s a good place to start.” – Jason Collins
Last year, 6th September was a momentous day for our country as the Supreme Court finally declared Indians are allowed to love freely. The entire country rejoiced the rainbow as the archaic 158-year-old law, Section 377, was scrapped in a landmark judgment. Everything changed overnight. After years of facing oppression and bigotry, India’s LGBTQIA community now has the law on its side to celebrate all forms of sexualities.
Here’s a list of celebrities who have come out of the closet – and we have to say, the world’s a happier (and more accepting) place for it.
Lilly Singh
Image Source: Instagram
YouTube sensation, Lilly Singh aka iiSuperwomanii revealed her sexuality via an Instagram post. In it, she celebrated all the colours of love and said that being ‘female, coloured, bisexual’ have oftentimes posed as obstacles but now she’s embracing them as her superpowers. The Indian-origin Canadian was showered with wishes from her internet family and yes, we’re cheering along!
Ellen DeGeneres
Image Source: Instagram
The American comedian and television host came out as a lesbian in April 1997 and became the first openly gay actress to play a lesbian character on television. Her show was cancelled and she was blacklisted by casting agents. She revealed that she fought severe depression because she was without work for three years. Today, she’s an Emmy-award winner married to the love of her life, Portia de Rossi. She once said, “I learned compassion from being discriminated against. Everything bad that’s ever happened to me has taught me compassion.”
Neil Patrick Harris
Image Source: Instagram
We all know him as the ladies man, Barney Stinson, from How I Met Your Mother. But in real life, the American actor is proudly gay. He came out in November 2006 by saying, “I am happy to dispel any rumours or misconceptions and am quite proud to say that I am a very content gay man living my life to the fullest and feel most fortunate to be working with wonderful people in the business I love.” He got married to David Burtka in September 2014 in Italy. Today, they’re raising two beautiful children together.
Caitlyn Jenner
Image Source: Instagram
Born William Bruce Jenner, Caitlyn Jenner is an American television personality and an Olympic gold winner. She came out as a transgender woman in 2015 and has been called the most famous openly trans woman in the world. She has been a part of committees for violence against trans women and has used her platform to address issues that were earlier being swept under the rug.
Kristen Stewart
Image Source: Instagram
In 2017, Kristen Stewart outed herself on Saturday Night Live when she admitted “I’m so gay” in her monologue. She spoke about the fluidity in her life, saying, “The whole issue of sexuality is so grey. I’m just trying to acknowledge that fluidity, that greyness, which has always existed. But maybe only now are we allowed to start talking about it”.
Matt Bomer
Image Source: Instagram
Matt Bomer, the American television star known for his role in the hit show White Collar, came out as a gay man in 2012. Two years later the actor revealed that he is married to Hollywood publicist, Simon Halls and the two have three adorable children together.
Ellen Page
Image Source: Instagram
The Juno star came out as a lesbian at a human rights convention in 2014 saying, “Here I am, an actress representing – at least in some sense – an industry that places crushing standards on all of us. There are pervasive stereotypes about masculinity and femininity that define how we are all supposed to act, dress and speak and they serve nobody. Anybody who defies these so-called norms becomes worthy of comment and scrutiny. The LGBT community knows this all too well.”
Here’s a toast to the LGBTQ+ community. Let’s accept love the way it’s supposed to be, cause when you reduce the world to black and white, you never see the rainbows.
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