Rumors about Aaron Hernandez‘s sexuality have been swirling ever since his suicide in 2017. Now, the former NFL superstar/convicted murderer’s bother is weighing in on the matter.
In an appearance on The Dr. Oz Show, which airs later today, Hernandez’s brother, Jonathan, says his brother came out to their mom during a tearful prison visit shortly before his death.
“He’s like, ‘Mom, you’re going yo die never knowing your son,’” Jonathan Hernandez says in his first interview since the release of the Netflix docuseries Killer Inside: The Mind of Aaron Hernandez.
Jonathan continues: “My mom being my mom, started mouthing with Aaron, and they started bickering back and forth, and all of a sudden they have this conversation, and they’re both flooded with tears across from each other.”
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Jonathan also goes into vivid detail about their father’s abusive behavior towards the family and how if he ever learned Aaron had same-sex attractions he would have “beat that out of him.”
Jonathan’s remarks come just days after Hernandez’s fiancee, Shayanna Jenkins, told Good Morning America that she doesn’t know whether he was attracted to men.
“If he did feel that way, or if he felt the urge, I wish that I was told,” Jenkins said. “I wish that he would have told me because I wouldn’t have loved him any differently. I would have understood. It’s not shameful.”
She continued, “You can’t describe someone’s sexuality without them being here. Although I’ve had a child with Aaron, I still can’t tell you what he was feeling inside.”
Killer Inside chronicles the meteoric rise of Hernandez as a star NFL player of the New England Patriots before his shocking arrest and conviction for murder in 2013.
The series features interviews with close friends and relatives of Hernandez, including a former teammate who claims the two had a gay relationship, and suggests that Hernandez’s internalized homophobia contributed to his decaying mental state, as did drug use and brain injury.
It also hints that Hernandez may have been responsible for other murders besides that of Odin Lloyd, and that he may have killed Lloyd after he discovered Hernandez’s closeted sexuality.
Related: Aaron Hernandez’s fiancee opens up about what she knew before his death
myrdraal2001
He was a convicted murderer. I hope that he rots in hell.
Nosso Crankee
Okay, Boomer…
rustyiam
Why is Queerly so obsessed with these low life thugs?
JED08
Because it’s interesting and relevant.
Cam
This is what bigotry, hate, and hiding who you are can do to people. That is the world Republicans want us to live in.
djmcgamester
My father and brother are Republicans. In fact, I know a fair number of Republicans (based on where I live). I assure you that’s not the world they want us to live in. My brother in particular gets pissed off when anyone says anything anti-gay.
This Us vs Them mentality is tearing the country apart.
rustyiam
Loud thud as my microphone drops to the floor!
Donston
Aaron did not kill himself or others because of Republicans or even primarily because of homophobia or anti-gay perspectives. The man obviously had issues way beyond that. The CTE he experienced clearly muddled his logic and instincts. While he definitely suffered mental health issues due to the rippling effects of childhood abuse. Though, yes, there’s little doubt that hetero pressures, toxic masculinity, confusion/convolution and being paranoid about being outed likely did play a part in his state of mind and decision making.
The shameful thing is that there are tons of people on social media claiming all these folks are merely making this up. They can’t fathom that a seemingly masculine NFL player who they admired or who they had a crush on was in the orientation spectrum and was into dudes, yet alone was homosexual or saw himself as “gay”. Some are fine seeing him a killer or as someone who was “really messed up”. Some are fine with admitting that he “experimented” or “wasn’t entirely hetero”. But being a “homo” or a guy who preferred persistent same-sex affections and romantic/sexual attentions, a guy who had more same-sex relationship fulfillment and emotional contentment- they just can’t see that. It’s really sad. It shows just how damning “gay” or sometimes just non-“straight” still is for so many dudes on both a psychological and sociological level.
Kieran
Homophobia is the real enemy we need to fight. And homophobes can be found in the democrat and republican party. Fighting homophobia should be a non-partisan crusade uniting people from whatever political persuasion. The deranged Trump haters and die-hard Hillary haters who seek to divide us over partisan politics are not looking out for the best interests of gay Americans.
Donston
People like to take complicated people and complicated issues and whittle them down to social/political/identity agendas. But honestly, that’s exactly what you’re doing with this post. I absolutely believe Aaron would have turned out differently had he not grown up in a homophobic environment, had he not been judged for his more effeminate instincts as a kid, had he not felt hetero and masculine pressures. But he didn’t kill people and himself purely based off of homophobia and internalized homophobia. That is an overly simple narrative.
Donston
Also, it’s funny how Trump haters are “deranged”. While Hilary haters are just “die-hard”. While trying to promote bipartisanship you end up revealing your own biases and judgement. Furthermore, the world has moved on from Hilary. It’s time you do the same.
Kangol2
Democratic, Kieran. Democratic Party. You can do it. Just try.
Jim
One can only speculate how his life would have been different if he could have be honest with his friends and himself from the beginning
Kieran
This could be a terrific teachable moment in America. But even now after this bombshell interview about homophobia in our society, the media isn’t playing up the gay angle to the Aaron Hernandez tragedy. Aaron doesn’t fit their stereotypes of what gay and bisexual men are supposed to be. The media is much more comfortable playing upon stereotypes. Anything that challenges those stereotypes are avoided.
trog
The documentary is riveting. I do agree with his former fiancee: We don’t know what was in Aaron’s heart and mind. So many issues were at play in his life.
It’s totally possible he was bisexual. I bristle watching the documentary where they act like most of his trouble is related to not coming out.
Dude was smokin hawt tho. Damn.