Every day someone helps further LGBTQ acceptance by coming out and proudly proclaiming who they are for the very first time.
This year, students, singers, politicians, filmmakers, actors, models, athletes, British Royal Family members and many more publicly added to that rainbow chorus that is enveloping the world.
We’re celebrating National Coming Out Day with a look back at these 17 people who bravely kicked down the closet door in 2016 and helped change the world for the better by simply being themselves.
1. Brian Anderson
The legendary pro skateboarder came out as gay in a Vice Sports mini-documentary.
“I consider myself a skateboarder first, gay second,” he said. “I’m a skater, that’s all I know.”
The actor/model ended years of speculation about his sexuality this year when he came out to Entertainment Weekly in May and opened up about the difficult journey he’s had on the way to becoming a totally out and proud gay man.
“It took me so long to get to this point, but I’m doing so good,” Haynes said. “I’m happier than I’ve ever been, and healthier than I’ve ever been, and that’s what I care about.”
3. Lilly Wachowski
Following in the footsteps of her sister and directing partner Lana Wachowski, The Matrix and Sense8 co-creator revealed she is also a transgender woman and encouraged a new approach to the way we discuss the concept of gender.
“We need to elevate the dialogue beyond the simplicity of binary,” she said in a statement published by the Windy City Times. “Binary is a false idol.”
4. Lord Ivar Mountbatten
Queen Elizabeth’s cousin is the first member of British Royal Family to utter the words, “I’m gay.” Lord Ivar Mountbatten came out in an interview with the Daily Mail in September.
“When I was growing up, it was known as ‘the love that dare not speak its name,’ but what’s amazing now is how far we have all come in terms of acceptance,” he said.
5. Ryan Beatty
“Proud to be a raging homosexual. It’s taken 20 years of suffocating in the closet for me to become comfortable enough to say it, but now I can finally breathe. I did it!” the 20-year-old singer revealed on Instagram in June.
6. Nyle DiMarco
He made history as the first deaf contestant to compete on America’s Next Top Model and then made his legions of queer fans very happy when he stated that he is sexually fluid after a fan tweeted him asking if he liked boys or girls.
7. Waylon Smithers
Finally, after 27 seasons, Mr. Burns’ right-hand man kicked down the closet door and officially ended the longest coming out story in history in the April 3rd episode of The Simpsons.
8. Brandon Davis
In a moving interview with OutSports, the Montana State football and rugby player opened up about the difficulties of being an out college athlete.
“My name is Brandon Davis, and I am a proud gay African-American athlete,” he said. “There’s no better copy than the original, and there is no better feeling in the world waking up without having to put on a mask. Know who you are and be yourself, you only get one time to be alive so don’t waste your years being a replica of what society wants you to be.”
9. Charlie Carver
Teen Wolf and Desperate Housewives heartthrob Charlie Carver started off the year with a bang by coming out as gay in a touching five-part essay on Instagram and noted his identical twin brother, Max, “is just as cool for being straight.”
10. Aubrey Plaza
The Parks and Recreation star, who also voiced the Internet’s most famous feline in Grumpy Cat’s Worst Christmas Ever, came out as bisexual in an interview with The Advocate.
“Girls are into me — that’s no secret. Hey, I’m into them too. I fall in love with girls and guys. I can’t help it,” she said.
11. Stephanie Beatriz
Stephanie Beatriz took advantage of Aubrey Plaza’s coming out to reveal she swings both ways as well. The Brooklyn Nine-Nine star tweeted a link to Plaza’s comments about falling in love with both sexes with a simple, “Yup.” She then followed up after a fan asked for clarification with another tweet that read “yes y’all” and included an emoji of a man kissing a woman as well as one of two women kissing.
12. Nathan Fort
The college basketball player from rural Arkansas came out as gay and bravely discussed being a survivor of sexual assault in a heart-wrenching piece he penned for OutSports.
“It’s important to me to share this now because I know many other guys have been in similar situations,” he wrote.
13. Trey Pearson
Christian rock singer Trey Pearson boldly came out in an emotional letter that fueled a feature on him in 614 Columbus magazine.
He wrote, “To make an extremely long story short, I have come to be able to admit to myself, and to my family, that I am gay.”
14. Maria Munir
At a town hall event in London earlier this year, the courageous British university student came out as a non-binary person to President Obama and a room of 500 people. Munir expressed the need for world leaders to “take us seriously as transgender people” and has since gone on to further speak out for transgender civil rights.
15. James Vacca
Bronx City Councilman James Vacca fiercely came out as gay via Twitter with the added fabulosity of a Golden Girls reference.
“After talking w/ my friends & family I’ve decided to come out publicly as a gay man. Now back to the Golden Girls!” he tweeted.
16. Sara Ramirez
Best known for playing the bisexual character Callie Torres on Grey’s Anatomy, actress Sara Ramirez also revealed that she is also a bisexual person herself in a powerful speech at the True Colors 40 to None summit.
“I am deeply invested in projects that allow our youth’s voices to be heard, and that support our youth in owning their own complex narratives so that we can show up for them in the ways they need us to,” she said.
17. Sade’s Son
The only child of singer Sade came out as a trans man on Instagram, proudly proclaiming “today is the first day of the rest of my life” along with the hashtags #shotday #firstshot #finally #ftm #selfmademan #transman #proud and #yaaassss.
While he has yet to publicly reveal the name he would prefer to use, we welcome him to LGBTQ.
PRINCE OF SNARKNESS aka DIVKID
Wow, the Sade’s kid story is genuinely surprising…not least because it’s the first time I’ve discovered something first on this site.
Aromaeus
A quality post for Queerty.
Kangol
Congrats and welcome to all of these brave people! Happy National Coming Out Day!
sfbeast
Happy Coming Out Day all. And how many of us would like to learn American Sign Language after seeing pics of Nyle DiMarco?
Low Country Boy
I am not being snarky, nor am I trying to be mean, but titling this piece, “Profile in Courage,” is a big slap in the face to the real pioneers of the LGBT movement. Why not run a piece on them. How many LGBT people on this site know the Mattachine Society or the Daughters of Bilets (without googling that shit)?
NateOcean
Who are these people?
notcisjustmale
It is 2016 nobody kicks down a closet door. They issue a press release and the obligatory fawning over by gay press such that it is, then life goes back to normal.
Arconcyyon
yummm our my the good time people ….
Arconcyyon
yes yes dont´s no not is no yes ! lgbtt the minutt´s time world time fantasy sexuality curiusidwtying home hause home the mundi lgbtt !
Arconcyyon
. Lilly Wachowski the trans travestir transsexuality the age age she is she is trans the corpus facev and face ! no not no gay the Every day someone helps further LGBTQ acceptance by coming out and proudly proclaiming who they are for the very first time …………
frankcar1965
@IDoNotHaveToAgreeWithYou: OMG I agree stop equating gay to trans! Nothing against trans but I don’t relate and it confuses people about being gayness, they think one is the other and they certainly are not, at all.
dean089
@frankcar1965: I was once told that it was all about equality and acceptance, but if that’s the case we could all have just joined the NAACP and funneled the efforts into a single cause.
He BGB
I love my transgender brothers and sisters but I don’t think, that their journey is gay or lesbian. They struggle with gender identity. I still don’t understand bisexuality (there probably is still a preference it couldn’t be 50/50 could it? Just asking). Are we a stronger group the more letters we add to ourgroup? Are some homonyms for the same thing. We took back “queer” but it means homosexual, right?
He BGB
Still waiting for male (working) pro athletes to come out. Basketball, football, baseball. The big 3. Come out. Come out….as I went down this list, not a single professional big name male athlete. It will happen one day. Just not right now.
Chris
@He BGB: Brian Anderson’s better known and more of a big-name sports star (at least more big-money) than 90% of this nation’s “bit 3” professional sports stars.
joeyty
Mountbatten is the only surprising and significant one.
Eye of the Beholder
Congratulations to all these big names. I guess it’s nice that an artist or an actor comes out, but I am most proud of the gay athletes that had the courage to show their true colors. It’s a shame that so many gay men can remember back on a gym class with horror, but then still won’t appreciate the courage it takes for a few brave souls when they stand up for us all to say that we do have a place in the locker room.
Oddly, I am most fascinated by Lord Ivar Mountbatten though.
@joeyty: I agree Joeyty, lol. It’s great knowing there is legitimate gay royalty in the world.
Josh S
I’ve never heard of most of these people. I guess I’m the black sheep of America’s “Cult of Slavish Devotion to Worshipping Celebrities.” But seriously, Sade’s son? THAT’S newsworthy???
maxxbot
Colton Haynes shouldn’t be in this list as he would sue anyone who wrote about him being gay even though there were pictures of him kissing guys that were published in a magazine. It’s one thing to be closeted but to sue people for simply reporting on readily available information is something else.
dwes09
@IDoNotHaveToAgreeWithYou: “Stop trying to force trans on us. It has nothing to do with sexuality coming out.”
Stop trying to force right wing divisiveness on us (liberals and progressives outnumber your kind by a bigly yuge majority here, and with good reason). There are, of course gay and lesbian trans folks, so in that sense it does have to do with coming out. And as a minority subjected to the willful ignorance of the right wingers as well as of “people of faith”, the struggle of trans folks has a lot to so with lgbt people. But as you don’t have to agree with your intellectual and ethical betters, have art it and enjoy your ignorance/anger/unwarranted sense of superiority and all the rest of the right wing mishugas.
And before you whine about “freedom of speech” and “censorship”, remember that has to do with government censure of speech, something the right loves but that the left has fought against (ever hear of the aclu?). Foolish speech may be free, as it should be, but it will never be free of deserved criticism or consequence.
startenout
@IDoNotHaveToAgreeWithYou: it’s the T in in LGBTQIA. Don’t be narrow-minded. Enough people hate you for being gay that you shouldn’t try to exclude anyone from the community.
nastypig
@sfbeast: WOOF!!! ME!!!
Daggerman
…the human race is just a pit of cowardice–we really are stupid and scared of homosexuality and transgender people because of RELIGION preventing man telling the truth for too long..
Louis
There is nothing nor ever has been anything wrong with being transgender period.
The individuals who continue to attempt to exclude equal members of our diverse and multicultural family should truly be ashamed of themselves.
You individuals attitudes make transgender people feel excluded and discarded as if their struggles and trials as Americans are less then yours are which is absolutely ridiculous .
Treat these people with compassion ,understanding,and inclusivity do not try to push them to the side and act as if they are irrelevant and less significant.
What amazes me is that even those that come across polite and somewhat understanding still do not grasp that they are STILL projecting intolerance and prejudice that is absolutely NO better then how conservatives speak of and treat Transgender Americans in this country.
Please realize how hurtful and demeaning and insensitive it is to treat our family like this it’s never right it’s always wrong .
We want people to treat us with love,compassion,empathy,understanding,tolerance,and respect.
We should be more then capable of showing all the above to each OTHER within this community the L lesbian the G gay the B bisexual and last but never least Transgender.
Let’s represent ourselves in a positive uplifting supportive nurturing way not a hypocritical intolerant hateful and cold hearted way.
We can and should do better then that.
joeyty
@Eye of the Beholder: Yes, we know there’s always been notable gay and lesbian royalty, from several countries, but having an “out” royal like Mountbatten during his own lifetime is definitely a jump ahead. And the UK sure needs as many openly gay bigshots now as it can get, what with the growing homophobia.
trusgold
COLTON HAYES IS MY FAVORITE COMING OUT. HE WAS SO CARED BUT IT LOOKS LIKE HE IS OK
trusgold
WE ARE NOT AS SECURE AS WE WOULD LIKE TO BE. THE CONSERVATIVES WOULD LOVE STRIPPING US OF MARRIAGE. I AM WITH MY LOVER GOINGG ON 25 YEARS. I’M SO BLESSED SO MANY GUYS ARE TERMINALY SINGLE. WHEN I HIT 30 I WAS STILL DRAWING A LOT OF TWINKS BUT I KNEW TIME TO GET THE LOVE OF MY LIFE I WAS 33 AND HIRED HIM FOR A JOB HE WAS JUST 18 I TOOK HIM TO A GAY BAR AND DIDN’T TELL HIM. THERE WERE POSTERS IN THE BATHROOM OF GAY EVENTS HE GOT THE DRILL AUTOMATICALLY. I WAS SUCH A DRUNK I SPENT $350 HE HAD SAVED ON BOOSE 25 YEARS LATER DON’T TOUCH ALCOHOL HE FLIPS AND WITH GOOD REASON. I HAVE NOTHING TO COMPLAIN ABOUT ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. I CAN NOT IMAGINE LIFE W/O HIM I CAN’T UNDERSTAND WHY PEOPLE BREAKNG UP AFTER 15 OR 20 YEARS
trusgold
@Daggerman: TRANSGENDER IS VERY COMPLICATED I DO NOT UNDERSTAND IT NOR DO I HAVE TO I REGARD THE TRANS PEOPLE AS SOME OF THE MOST COURAGEOUS PEOPLE GOD HAS CREATED.
JamJewel
Gosh! It’s so disheartening to see so many advocating for the ‘purity’ of THEIR brand. [Funny how they don’t take any lessons from like behaviors in the broader world.] That’s why there is still so much conflict between gays and lesbians, and among the races and cultures instead of building the numerical strength to fight the hatred towards all within the acronym.
jjose712
I think it will be better to separate gay and lesbian coming outs of transexuals coming outs, first because they are very different things and second because a lot of straight people really have a problem to diferenciate sexual orientation of gender identity and this kind of list not help ending that confusion