Wayne Brady celebrates coming out as pansexual with joyful TikTok: ‘Living my best life!’
TV personality Wayne Brady came out as pansexual in August. (Wayne Brady/TikTok/Getty)
Actor and gameshow host Wayne Brady has celebrated coming out as pansexual by singing and dancing under rainbow-coloured confetti.
The host of Let’s Make a Deal, who’s also known for the improvisational comedy show Whose Line Is It Anyway? and his role in How I Met Your Mother, spoke to People magazine about his decision to go public.
In a 30-second TikTok video, Brady, dressed in a red dressing gown, lip-syncs to Celine Dion’s “It’s All Coming Back to Me Now”. As dancers enter the frame flying the Pride flag, he reappears in a dark pink patterned top, light pink blazer, and a wig, as confetti falls down around him.
He wrote in the caption: “As someone who gets to bring joy to others daily on TV, it’s been ironic that I don’t experience it as much as I’d like. I advocate mental health for all and a part of that is self transparency.
“In doing my work, I’ve come to see a few truths: one of them being that I want to be free to love whomever I want. This truth makes me pan and part of the LGBTQ+ family. It’s scary as hell to say out loud but here it is.
“The people I admire the most are the ones brave enough to be themselves unapologetically. This shouldn’t shake anyone’s world, but if it bothers you at all, that’s your business.
“I was so afraid of having my manhood questioned, but screw that. A ‘real man’ in my eyes, isn’t afraid to be honest and happy. From now on, I’ll be over here living my best life. I love you.”
Wayne Brady opens up about the difficult journey coming out as pansexual
Brady, 51, who first came out to his daughter Maile and ex-wife Mandie Taketa, opened up further about his coming out journey during the interview, in which he discussed his pansexuality, his struggle with depression and the troubled relationship with his sexuality that he’s had throughout his life.
After researching various LGBTQ+ labels, Brady realised he connected with the idea of pansexuality the most. “To me, pan means being able to be attracted to anyone who identifies as gay, straight, bi, transsexual or non-binary, being able to be attracted across the board,” he said.
“I think, at least for me right now, that is the proper place. I took pan to mean that not only can I be attracted to any of these people or types physically, but [also] I could be attracted to the person who is there.”
Wayne’s self-discovery started in 2014 after comedy legend Robin Williams took his own life.
Brady realised he was feeling “depressed, frightened and weighed down” and decided to confront the things he had “repressed and suppressed”.
After attending therapy, he started questioning his sexuality and realised that he had been attracted to men all his life. “I’ve been attracted to certain men in my life, but I’ve always pushed that aside because of how I was raised, and because I live in today’s world, and it’s scary as s**t,” he continued.
Growing up, Brady was made to believe that being called gay was a bad thing, so hid that side of himself. “I was already bullied about a bunch of other s**t. I didn’t wanna add a top hat on top of that suit,” he said, comparing it to eating a “shame cake” every day.
As an adult, Brady has found a “wonderful community” of LGBTQ+ people to surround himself with, including “gays and lesbians, and, later in life, my trans relatives and my niece”.
However, he added: “I’ve always felt like a sham because I wasn’t being forthcoming with myself. I could speak out about Black issues because I can’t hide that. And you can play at being an ally, but until the day that you can truly say, ‘This is who I am, and I wanna stand next to you’, that’s not… I always wanted that day to come.”
He went on to say: “I am single, but it’s not about being with someone right now. I’ve got some work to do still. Then, Wayne, as a single, open-minded pansexual can make a decision and be free and open to other people.”
How have fans reacted?
Fans on social media have thrown their support behind Brady.
“Am I crying? I’ve always loved you, Wayne Brady. Live your life to the fullest,” one person commented under his TikTok.
“I’ve watched you since I was a child. I’m 29. I’m so proud of you. Thank you for sharing yourself with us all these years,” another fan wrote.
A third said: “A lot of us who grew up watching you, we saw it coming. I am so glad you have embraced who you are and who you love. Never be ashamed.”
