Quinto: Why I Decided To Come Out In 2011
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While doing press for The Boys in the Band, in which he plays Harold, Zachary Quinto spoke about coming out as gay in 2011.
When Quinto got into acting in 1999, there was still “explicit stigma” about being out in Hollywood. “I did feel like me coming out would have potentially had an impact on my career and it wouldn’t have been a good one,” he said.
The actor than recollected a time when he out with a friend of his who was gay and they encountered a studio executive. Quinto worried that even the appearance of perhaps being gay would cause “some ramifications.” Fortunately, nothing happened.
In 2011, Quinto spoke about his sexuality for the first time via his website. “That was at a time when a lot of young gay kids were killing themselves around the country because of bullying,” he said. “There was a huge spate of teen suicides that were happening. I just felt like I had an obligation at this point. Having enjoyed a certain level of success, I felt like the hypocrisy was too much to bear for me to be enjoying this life that I had created for myself and not acknowledging my identity as a gay man. I felt like it was actively harming a group of young people who the choice to come out could benefit.”
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