Jake Choi is a series regular on the new ABC sitcom Single Parents. Now, the 26-year-old just came out as sexually fluid in an interview with Very Good Light.
Choi, who used to bartend at gay parties before getting his big break in Hollywood, says it wasn’t until he played a gay man in the 2015 film Front Cover that he finally made any clear determinations about his sexual orientation.
“When I auditioned, I was bartending for a gay party for a couple of years,” he tells VGL. “I was like, this is reflective of all the friends I have and he’s an amalgam of 10 people I know in one role. I felt a huge responsibility tell this for my gay Asian loves. For Asians and Asian Americans.”
“When I shot the movie I identified as straight,” Jake continues, “that’s how I was conditioned. Now, I identify as fluid.”
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He explains:
After I did Front Cover, it made me think. A lot. Am I really living my truth? Am I really free? Am I still kinda, swimming upstream? Every day I would think. What does it mean when I’m talking to a guy and connect with him emotionally with intimate energy? Maybe it’s not just sexual but it could be. Maybe, sh*t, I’m attracted to everything. Maybe it’s more feminine or more androgynous. I realized yeah, I’m fluid. It’s not black or white. It’s grey.
In addition to Single Parents, Choi has also appeared on Law & Order: SVU, Younger, Difficult People, and Criminal Minds, to name just a few.
Get better acquainted with Jake by checking out some pics from his Instagram page…
thisisnotreal
With all due respect uh uh. I’m really tired of people creating and identifying as more and more ludicrous labels all in an attempt to either appear more unique or to avoid the traps and stigmas and bad image of another pre existing label. I think it reached a head with me when I read ana reticle about keiynan lonsdale identifying as a tree (don’t believe me just google it) does this guy like penis? Ok, does he like vagina? Ok. End of the day he’s either gay, straight or bisexual and from what he said I’m taking him at the bisexual label.
Bisexuals have it hard enough with people thinking it doesn’t exist and is just a stepping stone for drunk college girls or closeted men to flirt with until they decide on their final label. To me what he’s describing is bisexuality which is totally fine btw, but the dude needs to OWN IT. Enough of this “homo leaning, hetero leaning, homo dominant, hetero dominant” bullshit, doesn’t matter which side of the Kinsey scale you fall on and how far on that side you are, your still bisexual at the end of the day if you like men and women both.
Charlie in Charge
We invented the term homosexual in 1868. The word bisexual came later. These weren’t things you could “be” before then. People performed acts and there are all sorts of fun words for people who performed those acts (my favorite being catamite) but that was a revolutionary change.
I don’t understand what people mean by pansexual and gender fluid and yes sometimes I find people to be a little precious about these things but… why do we feel that we did a good thing in 1868 when we created a new category of sexuality but we have to stop there?
BShade77
…you don’t understand. @thisisnotreal
Greg
I agree. This “straight” guy has this realization that he likes guys too. Okay, then he’s bisexual. But then they would say “I don’t like labels”. So, he says he’s “sexually fluid”. What does he think that is? When he says he likes everything. There’s really only two choices. As far as the term “homosexual” being created in 1868, so what? They didn’t create a new category of sexuality. It was always there. They just gave it a name. Which has worked since then. What more does anybody need? Stop making up fake new words.
Charlie in Charge
I understood him; I don’t agree that the only way people can sexually identify is heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual and asexual. I also don’t agree that someone identifying as pansexual (or any of the others) is harmful to bisexuals.
startenout
Actually there’s more than “only two choices” even in birth since some people are born with both male and female genitalia and XXY and… well you see my point. Just because YOU accept only male and female doesn’t me he or we have to.
Donston
thisisnotreal, I thought you were better than this post. Not only do you exclude non cis people but you reduce everything to being about body parts and under-rate just how varied the spectrum is.
There are men who aren’t even into guys’ private parts but prefer romantic and even sexual affection and connection with a guy and vice versa. There are people who aren’t into anyone’s body parts. Never mind tops who are indifferent towards penis but love man ass. Please stop reducing everything to dick and pvssy.
Everyone is different. And not everyone fits perfectly into your labels and into your exact definitions of those labels. In fact, most “queers” don’t. That’s something we all need to get comfortable with. Because it’s not going to go backwards.
Donston
Also, there are guys who love them some dick and/or man ass but can’t have any real romantic or emotional connection with guys. Just as there are men who like them some pvssy and/or titties but can’t have sustained romantic, relationship or even sexual fulfillment towards females.
You’re living in the dark ages. Some individuals do deserve to be called out for bs-ing. But ultimately, you need to allow people to be themselves and figure it out. That’s actually how to get more people to be out and show less shame if they want to genuinely be with someone of their gender. Identity peddling helps no one.
venusian
Actually, “fluid” is a possible (frequent) feature of the bisexuality. A few of bisexuals have a sexuality more static but, probably, the most of the bisexuals have a fluid sexuality just as a heteresexual preference (in the realm: sexual and/or conjugal). This term is absolutely beneficial if it facilitates the coming out of this silent majority of bisexuals (0.5-2.5 on the kinsey scale). Many people (probably the most of the society) are bisexual but, however, this group seems to be non-existent and maybe this new “label” can be very useful.
Hussain-TheCanadian
It seems to me, that many people who belong to minorities are using many different labels just to be AWAY from being labeled/called/looked at as gay. Now this whole fluid nonsense got started by Americans of European heritage, but i’m noticing that many minorities are also picking up this “fluid” label for themselves.
Not to sh*t on my bi brothers and sisters, but is being fluid just another attempt to be gay behind the curtain but be “straightish” to family/society?
Ashke113
Yes, yes it is. Same shit different new and improved title……
Donston
There are more than a handful of “fluid” identifying people who are in same-sex or trans relationships. But yes, it does seem particularly used by individuals who want to mostly maintain hetero romantic and societal dynamics while indulging some freaky sh*t with other genders here and there behind closed doors. But at least they’re being honest about that. They just won’t take on the labels that you want them to. “Bi” has become a more and more uncomfortable term for people who don’t have relationship and romantic fulfillment and ambitions that extend beyond one gender or are full of convolution and contradiction. Ultimately, all these terms (including gay) is an umbrella and a spectrum.
tham
Hmmm…sounds like generational semantics.
Macraymusic
Love more. Hate less. Define never.
Donston
The thing is, “fluid” is a label and it is a way of defining yourself. It’s just incredibly vague.
I can support the whole “no labels” thing. (Once again, “fluid” is a label). I see the good in it. But I also see the bad. It does sometimes seem driven by gay shame and individuals who only truly want to be with someone of their gender not liking the limitations and sociological weight of “gay” or wanting to desperately hold on to a sense of heteronormalcy because they’re not 100% homo. It’s also sometimes about very hetero-leaning and rather cis people wanting to desperately grasp on to “queerness” and leech off of it because of their own insecurities and battles.
There are good and bad things to all these different identities, sociological groupings and “queer movements”.
Bob LaBlah
Not only does this movie look good but for those of you who haven’t seen it I strongly recommend you check out Crazy Rich Asians. It too has a gay character (a Filipino actor plays the role of Oliver) and is entertaining from beginning to end. I am now mourning the closing of Blockbuster Video and other such outlets where all you had to do was stop by and pick up the movie. I would love to see this movie.
Ashke113
So another one has decided he’s “fluid”, and how long before he says he’s gay and has been dating the same man for the last 5yrs or so and they’re so in love and want to get married and adopt children and be one big happy family……it’s been done over and over until it is now just an “oh great again” moment. The problem with our community is that no one wants yo be labeled these days but yet they want their own label and make some stupid word up the slap a definition to it and voila it’s a new colour on the damn pride flag. We will never be happy until we’ve destroyed ourselves and then wonder what went wrong. There’s Straight-Gay-Bi-Trans & Hermaprodite, anything else is just someone trying to run away from who they are only to try to make a smoke screen of what they think they want. Get the hell over it people life is too short to worry about a goddamn label.
greenchemical
First thing first, Queerty I’m shocked you guys covered a story that wasn’t about a white male. So kudos to you guys.
Second…wow the hate. If this was a white guy I doubt he would get as much hate. Whenever there’s an article about Nico Tortorella all of you desperately praise him. The biased is so disgusting.
Etseq
Actually, Nico is usually roasted in Queerty comments…Just sayin
StraightnNarrow
I have yet to meet a truly bisexual Asian man. Those who claim their bisexuality are just gays who desire the social standing and status of being a straight in the family oriented culture but can’t seem to suppress their seething lust for male attraction.
Kangol
Nico gets slammed on here. Queerty also has gotten better in covering stories about LGBTQ people of color (beyond RuPaul). Just scroll through the last few months and you’ll see it does happen. They’re still kind of behind the curve when it comes to Asian Americans and Asian peeps, though.
Donston
Everyone who goes the fluid, queer, a lil bi, not 100% hetero or homo, I-don’t-believe-in-labels route tends to get criticized here. And Nico is about as slammed as it gets on this site, which is probably why they keep posting articles about him.
My issues with Nico aren’t his various shifting identities or whatever his “lifestyle” is but rather that he consistently tries to shame gay men (even going so far as to pretty much say effeminate males shouldn’t identify as “gay”), seems to contend with self-misandry, is out here pretending he’s a poet and expecting people to pay for that crap, has thrown out so many incomprehensible and sometimes flat-out ignorant quotes, latches onto and discards people and every “queer movement” to shield whatever issues he has and for attention and as an ego boost, and he pimped out and hyped up a very brief and insubstantial same-sex relationship to the media that was perhaps even fake all just to “prove” his fluidity.
Ashke113
You missed the point entirely, it’s not about race or skin colour or anything remotely close to that. What it IS about is people trying to make up new forms of sexuality just to feel special or included.
gaimingfoxer
Say what? Plenty of white people get smacked here all the time.
Heck, even Colton Haynes articles has people vomiting bile in the comments.
I think it says more about you shoving a race card where none exists than the posters here… Just something to think about.
salumbre
Um. First, it was people coming out as “bisexuals” as a stepping stone to, eventually, openly acknowledging they were gay.
Then there’s the people who came out as gay, and that was it. It was brave until it didn’t have to be.
But now, we have all these “fluid,” “queerish,” “middle of the spectrum” people who are getting in the queer boat, yet they only date and marry persons of the opposite sex (at least openly).
So first they ruined it for the bisexuals, and now they are just ruining for everybody.
frankcar1965
Soon to be just plain old Gay, please stop this insanity.
OzJosh
Let’s be honest: all these contrived would-be identities like “fluid” and “curious” and “questioning” are just lame avoidance shot through with homophobia. If you don’t want to own being gay or bi then you might as well stay in the closet. Better we don’t think of you at all, than have us think you’re a big fat wuss.
Donston
Most “queers” don’t fit perfectly into gay or bi. So, saying they should be quiet because they don’t is kinda rude and doesn’t equate to people being honest about themselves and gaining self-comfort. “Coming out” isn’t about you and your agenda or aligning yourself with a particular group. It’s about the individual.
StraightnNarrow
Asian gay men are some of the most self centered gays in the world. They will marry any woman that will give his family a son but once that happens, they go out and live like a big slut and they don’t even bother to hide their lifestyle because the society just turns a blind eye on them. In the meantime, their poor wife has to stay loyal to his family and accept a cheating husband and a lifetime of no sexual intimacy. They are the worst kind of gays.
theballadeer
@StraightnNarrow As an Asian American man that is the most presumptuous thing to say and is completely offensive, and the fact that I am the ONLY one thus far calling you out on your bald faced racist allegations is troubling. Do you have any statistics or are you just recklessly slandering an entire category of people? As an Asian who grew up in Hawaii and who has lived in New York for 15 years, you can imagine I’ve had a lot of experience with Asian men, and their sexual behavior is no more egregiously unethical than any other group of people I’ve encountered. How are you an authority on this? Do you do censuses? Are you a behavioral counselor for gay men? YOU, sir, are the worst kind of gay and it has nothing to do with race—Sanctimonious, myopic, and judgemental. Keep that ish to yourself, compadre.
Donston
Most people don’t live their lives for agenda and they shouldn’t. Identity is updated through every generation. “Gay” became popular because more people wanted to disconnect themselves from “homosexual”. They didn’t want their identity, their sense of self and who they wanted to be with to be purely about sex. While simply going with “gay” or “bi” doesn’t work for some. Fluidity has some legitimacy. People can gain or lose attractions or sexual enjoyment or romantic interests towards some types of people throughout the years. And the idea of “bi-erasing” is getting more and more absurd. Most people are aware that perhaps the majority of “queers” are not 100% conventionally hetero or homo. The majority of straight people don’t even see “gay” as meaning 100% homo. Even most people who still say bisexuality doesn’t exists don’t truly believe you can’t have attractions and/or affections beyond one gender.
Most who avoid “bi” or are uncomfortable with it feel that way because they are not truly interested in legitimately being with someone beyond one gender or they’re in the process of truly “figuring things out”. They also may have no interests in trying to “prove” or talk about just how bi they are or where they fit on the spectrum. More people need to be sympathetic to how convoluted things can be for an individual. And yes, by identifying as a “gay-pansexual” I am one of those people who don’t perfectly align with agenda or a specific group. I also believe “gay” shouldn’t equate to homosexual but rather be a word that means having general fulfillment and romantic interests towards someone that’s not the opposite gender of you (which is pretty much what “gay” meant when it first became widely used). Unless most people agree to update what “gay” means, many who only truly want to be with someone of their gender and only really have fulfillment towards their gender are going to keep curving that word because they’re not 100% homo.
I own who I am. I “own” gay-pansexual. I have attractions and affections that are all over the place, but I am married to a man, in love with a man and only truly feel fulfilled, at ease and at home in a romantic situation with someone of my gender. That’s called owning who I am and what I want. Everything else is just about other people’s agendas.
Black Pegasus
These “sexually fluid” and “bisexual” attention whores need to have several seats.
theballadeer
How can we scream about the corrosive effects of toxic masculinity then whine about a man who has come out simply under an unusual term? We’ve got bigger fish to fry, folks. I’m happy Jake is receptive to letting one thing lead to another with someone of the same sex. I’ve been following his career for years and he has identified as straight but he is also a staunch advocate for all people of color and for gay rights. Maybe he didn’t want to identify as bisexual because he’s never been with a guy to confirm it and until he does he can use whatever term he likes. He’s on our side. Stop getting hysterical over semantics and focus your outrage for someone who actually is our enemy.
Donston
You are actually doing what you’re accusing others of. So, if he actually dates a guy and perhaps realizes he genuinely likes them and even prefers being with a guy does that mean he must start identifying as bi or gay then? There are plenty of people who are in same-sex relationships that still go with “fluid”. It’s not always used as a placeholder identity, as if it’s the new “bi”.
There are a few legit problems with where the “identity movement” is heading. Some people seem to want “gay” to mean 100% homosexual and 100% cis gender. While queer and fluid (and even bi on occasion) are so all-encompassing and vague that they often don’t mean much of anything on their own. People are pushing identities to the extreme, where they’re either too exclusive or are so inclusive and obtuse that they’re impractical and don’t serve a ton of purpose beyond connecting yourself to a group of people. There isn’t much middle ground any longer. Also, it seems to be leading to even greater sociological division and resentment among “queers”, leading to more people who only have genuine fulfillment and contentment towards someone that’s not the opposite cis gender desperately holding on to hetero-normalcy, and too often identity is still used to manipulate or to shield internalized homophobia, gay shame, self-misandry, self-misogyny, insidious paraphilias.
So, while I’ve defended Jake in this comment section and believe his intentions are solid, there are definitely some legit issues that need riffling through when it comes to the evolution of identity and where it’s heading. Some aspects are improving. While other aspects are worsening. I feel in general the weight that we give identity and sex/sexual attractions/sexual behaviors is problematic and needs changing.
Season6OfLife
I can’t get over the amount of shaming that is created by those insisting there can only be certain labels. If should be up to each individual to describe him/her/their self the way that person feels most comfortable. I’ve spent the last three years trying labels myself. I came out to my wife three years ago. At first I decided to just own it and said I was gay (to avoid the whole first bi then gay convo). But I realize that didn’t feel right, after all I still love my wife and enjoy making love to her. But I don’t really think of myself as bi either because my head always turns to guys and not women. Some have said gay +1, but I feel that has negative connotations, especially for my wife. I like all encompassing “queer”, but again that word has some baggage too. Now I just say, “it’s complicated” … because it is. And I’m sure there will be haters out there who will condemn my story and my situation, but I know my truth and in the end that’s all that matters. Discriminating how someone labels themselves is just as bad as homophobic slurs. People who do that are still slinging their hate and closed mindedness.
Birdbrain1963
So you would be into dating me?
Luna1979
We don’t need all this confusion. Generally, if you’re alive, he wants to ride. The end.