Charlie Carver, an actor whose work, often alongside with his twin Max, includes Desperate Housewives, Teen Wolf, The Leftovers and I Am Michael, has come out as a gay man by posting a touching five-part essay on his Instagram account. Carver, who played a young gay man who had a torrid threesome with James Franco and Zachary Quinto in last year’s biopic I Am Michael, hadn’t spoken publicly about his sexual orientation until now. In the messages posted on Instagram, the 27-year-old performer says he was inspired to come out after seeing a sign that read “Be who you needed when you were younger.”
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Carver writes that he “wanted to believe in a world where one’s sexuality was for the most part irrelevant. … Furthermore, as an actor, I believed that my responsibility to the craft and the business was to remain benevolently neutral — I was a canvas, a chameleon, the next character.” He adds, “So now, let the record show this- I self-identify as gay. And does that really matter anymore? As a young man, I needed a young man in Hollywood to say that — and without being a dick about it, I owe it to myself, more than anything, to be who I needed when I was younger.”
Read his full message below.
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neostud
Congrats and welcome to the family.
joeyty
@neostud: I agree with your congratulations (absolutely! : ) ) but….”family” ? I think that’s….inaccurate. (“Tribe” might be a bit better, but even then there’s too much conflict to use the term).
Lvng1Tor
Every time a person in the spotlight or with an increased visibility comes out and lives an authentic life it helps to save a kid’s life and bring us closer to future generations not giving a F’ about someones sexuality.
Captain Obvious
The year all the kids confirm my gaydar is more accurate than I even realized.
Giancarlo85
Oh great. Another gay white guy. Of course this article gets a lot of text and thought from editors on here (and the usual apologists like Captain Oblivious). I’m sure he’s doing just fine… while many in our community still get kicked out of their homes and ostracized for being gay.
Whoopie doo.
Blackceo
Awww…very happy for Charlie and the support for him has been great.
Captain Obvious
@Giancarlo85: You have no idea how happy your bitterness and tears make me. Keep crying, troll.
joeyty
@Giancarlo85: Just because he’s white doesn’t mean there’s not a trickle down effect that helps people of other races dealing with sexuality and their families too. I’m white and I’m sure Michael Sam helped a lot of white folk.
Giancarlo85
@joeyty: Trickle down effect. LMAO. What is this site? Townhall.com? Human justice isn’t reaganomics. Whether this guy comes out or not, has absolutely little to ZERO impact on the lives of many who do get kicked out for being gay. Many of whom are those of ethnic and racial minorities.
I don’t care for the privileged in this country. They already have it easy and have many advantages in keeping their status.
@Captain Obvious: I guess you like kissing up to the rednecks in your town. Ever get tired of that, Mr Oblivious?
Xzamilio
Sigh… the comments make me moist. Turnabout is fair motherfucking play.
On another note, good for him. I kinda thought he was, but didn’t think too much about it because I thought he was too young… but hell, he’s only 4 years younger than me. It’s a 50/50 shot the other twin is gay, too, so… who knows? A gay twin duo (not the Rhodes Bros… no thanks) in Hollywood? Are there gay twin celebrities?
Come on, Matt Kemp or Matt Forte or Jimmy Graham!!!
Giancarlo85
@Giancarlo85: Oh and something else about this trickle down effect. He will make a lot of money and might donate some to a homeless youth shelter so some kids can get blankets. Yeah that’s the guilt factor that the elite have. The elite have it easy yet think they can throw some crumbs. Trickle down… Piss down.
joeyty
@Giancarlo85: then ethnic and racial minorities should stop throwing their kids out over reasons that stupid
lessthan
@Giancarlo85: Dude, are you okay? Do you need help? You are overreacting a bit to a little fluff news story. You have kinda meandered around a point, which appears to be that minorities have a rough time coming out. Umm, so? Why is this the place to mention this? Queerty and every major queer news outlet has a little fluff article for every newly out “celebrity,” including ones that aren’t white. Israel Gutierrez, Jussie Smollett, and Matt Cage all received the same treatment as Charlie Carter has, right here on Queerty. It’d be nice if Queerty had more to write about, (celebrities coming out, period) but they can only do the ones that happened.
aistubbs
I say good on him. It’s hard for any gay to come out and admit it to one self but to do it when your famous even harder.
Good on him. Be yourself and don’t worry what others think. It’s there loss if they don’t approve .
McShane
@Xzamilio: Tegan and Sara are the only two I can think of.
https://youtu.be/ygQtml-Xsog
Xzamilio
@McShane: Ah. I forgot about them for a minute. I like this song.
Philigree
@Giancarlo85: i can’t believe i’m actually gonna sound like i’m defending queerty but what exactly do you want them to do? not report on charlie coming out? would that make the lives of the lgbtq minorities better? also, you speak
of the boy as if you know him personally. i think its a bit much to foam in the mouth over this.
Aromaeus
I’m more shocked that he’s older than me. There were rumors he was gay irl when playing Danny’s love interest during the season of teen wolf he was on.
Brian
While it may help with your personal assertiveness, identifying as gay eventually burdens you with restrictions. You tend to become a prisoner of the demands and expectations of the gay media and the gay community in general. These two are like parasites, consuming your juices and then spitting out the remnants when you lose your “poster child” usefulness.
Look, don’t get me wrong. I’m all for feeling good about oneself. My point is that identifying as gay is beneficial for about 5 minutes and then it becomes a burden. I’d much rather simply identify as a human being and leave it at that.
For actors, there is a special problem because female viewers won’t buy a gay-identifying man unless he fits the stereotype of a swish or a lesion-riddled waif.
Giancarlo85
@joeyty: It must be really easy for you to say that. Very easy. You have it all figured out doing you?
@lessthan: I have every right to make the solid and clear point I have made. Do you have a reading comprehension problem? It appears you are not reading clearly.
@Philigree: Oh wonderful. Another out of the woodwork supporter. He has it easy and he has a lot of money. Money is a big support factor. Many in our community do not have that. So please keep pouring the praise on a rich white guy in Hollywood who decided to come out way too late.
@Brian: While I have been critical of this article, the only parasite here is you. There is no such thing as gay identifying. And you wouldn’t know the first thing about being gay, you closet queen.
Winter79
Attention Colton Haynes: This is how you do it.
Tobi
@Giancarlo85: Oh, hush up, I’d like to savour my white privilege in peace for once.
Masc Pride
He has a great ass. Not sure if it was him or Max that dropped trou in The Leftovers, but it’s technically the same ass.
Masc Pride
@Tobi: I literally LOL’ed.
ScottOnEarth
Congratulations! But a 5-part essay? Really? Why do so many people think it’s a matter of world-wide attention when they come out? It’s not. Just live your life proudly for YOU and don’t expect a parade and national attention. It’s no big deal!
PLAYS WELL WITH OTHERS
.
PLAYS WELL WITH OTHERS
asdf kle;
moldisdelicious
@Brian:
You have a point. Many guys all of a sudden let their sexuality dictate everything about themselves vs it becoming a part of who they are where they live life on their terms and not following what other people do to fit in to be accepted.
Then when a guy isn’t putting himself into a box or doing the supposed “gay” thing to do putting himself into a box or a bigger closet, his peers think he’s ashamed of himself. You have sites like queerty trying to tell gay men what they should be or what they should care about. Then they think they’re helping people when this shit is just about as ignorant as the homophobes telling gay people what it’s like to be gay and shit like that.
Masc Pride
@moldisdelicious: It’s truly trading in one form of conformity for another. We actually agree on something. Must be a chilly day in Hell.
Masc Pride
@ScottOnEarth: What do you expect? He’s a gay actor, so of course his “coming out” is super dramatic and self-important. He can’t help it. He gets small roles with his brother. This is his moment to shine on his own. Let him have his diva moment. lol
moldisdelicious
@Masc Pride:
Sounds like you take this shit way too seriously. I didn’t know I was up in your feeling like that where you have to mention that shit along with agreeing with me on something. Smh.
bicurious
I can’t but see this as a positive thing. The more exceedingly attractive, young, articulate members of the population who are open about their sexuality instead of hiding in the shadows the better. I would also add that the more unattractive, old, and inarticulate members of the population who are open about their sexuality instead of hiding in the shadows the better as well.
Hussain-TheCanadian
The proclamation: “I am Gay” was so liberating for me; it did feel right, felt good, felt whole, felt loved, felt accepted.
When I told my Mother those same three words, her reaction, the words “I know baby” – it brought calm, comfort, love, tears, and content that the person who gave me life knew all along what I wanted to deny and hide.
So no matter what the colour or race is, as human beings, we need to provide comfort and hope to one another, especially among our Gay tribe of men and woman.
P.S.
To my above sisters, for God’s sake, do we have turn every single happy thread to something weird and angry?
moldisdelicious
@bicurious:
How so? Especially when guys that look like him are always overrepresented in the media. Most people who are in the closet cannot relate to him. Even worse, guys like him are already put on a pedestal within the gay male community for all the wrong reasons. People who are coming out are looking out for themselves first. They’re not worried about some Hollyweird star coming out especially when half of hollyweird is gay already. Chances are that he’s been out just not publicly.
moldisdelicious
@Hussain-TheCanadian:
Easier said than done especially when you have folks trying to create some hierarchy amongst themselves so they can feel good while making others feel insecure. It becomes people becoming dependent on other gay men to make or break them. The guys who usually aren’t a part of that shit are the guys who are partnered. Otherwise, you either are a loner or in some clique. Personally, I don’t care about fitting into group or being embraced by other gay men because we’re gay.
drivendervish
I don’t blame Charlie for being white. He couldn’t very well come out as a black, or latino, etc man. I think his 5 part treatise is exceptionally well written and captures the feelings that so many of us had when we were younger. It feels very honest and revealing to me and I congratulate him and suspect he has helped many young people to find the strength to be their authentic self which is one of the greatest gifts a person will ever receive.
Hussain-TheCanadian
@moldisdelicious: I agree – I think if we don’t love and support each other, who will?
Daniel-Reader
White people are impressive, considering caucasians make up a small minority on the planet (less than 20%). It’s good to encourage members of minorities to come out on Earth. Now, why people with other backgrounds have not come out more when they have greater numbers on the planet seems really odd when you think about it. White gay humans are tiny in numbers compared to non-white gay humans.
joeyty
I guess the message from the posters is : when a white moderately-known person comes out of the closet, Queerty has to ignore it from now on.
Chris
Congrats to him, even if I don’t know who he is. May he have a happy life.
But does it really take five paragraphs to announce this? His birth announcement was probably just three words long: “It’s a boy!”
moldisdelicious
@Daniel-Reader:
They do. It’s that queerty and other gay publications and media ignores them. Just like the constant dialogue is centered mostly around whites while trying to make others disappear or seem very small like they don’t matter. It seems like the whole gay experience is never captured because you have a minority within the gay community trying to speak for everyone of us. I most definitely cannot value queerty because there’s way too much out there for the end result to be small like this. There’s a lot going on and yet tom bradys draws seems to matter where it’s gay news. I don’t buy it.
dporteraustin
wait, which bother is he?
joeyty
@moldisdelicious: Who has been coming out who Queerty’s been ignoring ?
Hussain-TheCanadian
@Daniel-Reader: Change always begins with a minority; you also need to be part of a free society, relatively speaking, to be able to put forth change and be given the platform to debate and argue for yourself and community.
Most of the planet doesn’t live in free societies at all.
Masc Pride
@moldisdelicious: …says the guy who’s always on here fighting with people. lol
Violent Rainbow
Huh, for some reason I already thought one of the twins way gay… wait wasn’t one of them gay when they were on Teen Wolf?
Alan down in Florida
@joeyty: We ARE family. I got ALL my sisters with me.
joeyty
@Alan down in Florida: I’m sure YOU do.
Nahald
Someday, hopefully soon, it won’t be necessary to “Come out”. It will be just a another normal state of being and and considered inherently human. Now about that Twin brother ?