Another turn in the seemingly never ending story of boxer Yusaf “Mack Attack” Mack. Just days after coming out as bisexual, the 35-year-old self-proclaimed “straight father-of-ten” now says that, actually, on second third thought, he’s gay.
In a new interview taped earlier this week with Fox 29 in Philadelphia, Mack told reporter Quincy Harris: “I’m tired of holding it in. It is what it is. I live my life. I’m gay,” adding that he’s been aware of his sexuality for “about eight years.”
Related: Professional Boxer Who Appeared In Gay Adult Film Says He Was Drugged, “Can’t Remember A Thing”
This is quite the reversal from seven days ago.
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Last week, Mack denied his involvement in a gay skin flick that appeared on the website DawgPoundUSA.com. He told Philly.com that he had absolutely no memory of making the tape and suggested the production company had drugged him. After DawgPoundUSA.com released a statement accusing Mack of slander, the boxing champ walked back the whole “I was drugged” story and admitted he was “completely aware and fully conscious during the film.”
Now, about that skin flick… Mack says it was the only one he ever did, and that he had no idea what the response would be. He also said he was surprised when people saw it and recognized him: “I didn’t think nobody from Philadelphia would see it!”
Related: Shocking: Boxer Comes Out As Bi, Says He Wasn’t Drugged In Gay Sex Tape After All
And as for why he filmed it in the first place, Mack said he was desperate.
“I was down and out,” he explained. “I asked friends, they wouldn’t help me, so I did what I had to do.”
The release of the tape, he added, has “hurt” him and his children. He claims his oldest daughter, who is 23 (which means he had her when he was 12), told him he should kill himself after the embarrassment he’s inflicted upon the family.
But he’s not letting all that get him down.
“I’m free, I’m happy,” he said. “The truth is out, and I’m sorry. … I’m still me. So when you see me on the streets, I’m still Yusaf Mack.”
Related: Company Denies Drugging “Straight” Boxer Yusaf Mack And Making Him Appear In Hardcore Gay Skin Flick
h/t: Gawker
Stephen Meeks
Sounds like the oldest daughter is a major loser
PRINCE OF SNARKNESS aka DIVKID
Meanwhile his twitter likes say….
Jack Walter
What a surprise, said nobody
Rogério Machado
Make up your fucking mind bitch
Alexis Barros
PRINCE OF SNARKNESS aka DIVKID
His problem is he says the first damn thing that comes into his head…boy needs some quiet reflection time
Sebastian Holiday
Good for you! Be happy! Glad you could make it, can’t have been easy to come out. Well done.
Clarence Duvall III
Watch out Caitlyn he’s coming for your spot light.
Scott Redner
Congrats on finally coming out, here’s your cake ð??? and your tiara ð???, now get your ass off my news feed and just go away…
Nate Topaha
He’s going to say he’s confused next.
Colin McCoy
Y’all act like you’ve never lied to anyone about your sexuality before. It can’t be easy being outed when you’re in the public eye. Everyone has their own path to coming out.
Brian JC Kneeland
The guy needs to get his story right – not for us but for himself!
alphacentauri
So which one is he? Bisexual, or gay? I am not surprised that a gay man who is closeted would have 10 kids with multiple women in order to pretend to be “straight”.
SeeingAll
@Brian JC Kneeland: Haakon Gisvold needed to get his story right.
Deon Letsoalo
Y’all might as well marry this dude since you’re so freaking obsessed with him. It’s his life and I really don’t see any need for him to explain himself to anyone!
Masc Pride
He’ll be transgender by this weekend.
SeeingAll
@Colin McCoy: I agree. And I say good for this guy.
Bob LaBlah
Smart man. Were I advising him I would look into getting an agent and start on a MMA career. Let the closet cases have boxing. Tell me this (without having to do a google search)….who is the current HEAVY WEIGHT champion the world. And before you say it, Floyd Mayweather is NOT a heavy weight. You can see how far professional boxing has fallen if that answer doesn’t roll off of your lips.
The days of Mike Tyson, Larry Holmes, George Foreman, Muhammad Ali, Ken Norton….are gone. It is more a sport for ex-cons yearning for the old days than the modern day, gay friendly MMA. Think forward now, kid. You stand a chance of making some big bucks off of your notoriety than you could ever imagine if you market yourself right. You really do need to talk to someone about this and go for it. If your told no by one move on to the next one.
Hell, look at those absolutely talentless Kardashians (including that hideous social science project that recently unraveled itself and put on a dress). Do you think IT is still shopping at Targets? I think not. Get smart and show the world you do have some marbles upstairs left after all of those blows to the head.
Masc Pride
@Colin McCoy: You’re right. We’ve all seen many guys go from outright denial to bisexual to gay. This is just the first time we’re seeing the conflict play out in a public figure. There’s certainly a comical aspect to how quickly he’s gone through so many stages, but ultimately I think his actions are quite genuine and human.
Xtian99
as for the fact that his “oldest daughter, who is 23 (which means he had her when he was 12), told him he should kill himself “- she is the best walking talking argument for abortion there ever was. what unsupportive trash- start publishing her pictures so everyone knows who this waste of semen is. this is why I never want kids- if they are a holes your stuck with them.
Brian J Curtis
lol
DarkZephyr
We SHOULD be supporting him, not tearing him down. Some of you have apparently forgotten how hard coming out can be, how it can affect our lives, families and even sometimes our careers. C’mon guys, how about a little bit of compassion for an LGBT brother who is having a difficult time?
Honestly there are times when I want to share some of these Queerty articles on facebook and am afraid of what my friends and family will think when they see the hateful nasty sh*t that gay men are capable of saying to and about each other other LGBT people and even our straight allies.
Cam
@DarkZephyr:
My only problem with outright cheering for him is that he made accusations against others that amounted to saying the drugged and raped him. That could have sent people to jail. It’s at that point that being in the closet isn’t just about you and your fears, but now about attacking others.
That isn’t to say I don’t have sympathy, but that was a pretty terrible way to handle the initial revelation.
Sameer Nurani
He might come out saying he is Don’tknowsexual next!
M Jaime Rodriguez
Didn’t we all do this when we were coming out of the closet? We all went back and forth about how to identify ourselves. We should not judge this guy’s actions. Everyone struggles with accepting themselves before they come out.
PRINCE OF SNARKNESS aka DIVKID
Fathered his daughter at age twelve…hmmm…
Or lying about his real age? Gayness confirmed!
BigG
@DarkZephyr: who’s supporting the kids and people’s lives he ruined by lying? Can’t support a selfish, self loathing compulsive liar. Get real dude, he’s a loser. You can’t cheer for someone when they leave a trail of destruction amongst the people in their lives.
Corey J Hodges
I’m bored with this story already.
Sheldon Siegel
From Straight to Bi to Gay. Next up he’ll say he used to be a white woman from Passaic, NJ.
Masc Pride
@Cam: No. That is so dramatic. We don’t just lock people up over accusations. Ever heard of the justice system? The onus would’ve been on Mack to prove his claim was true in order for someone to be locked up.
@Xtian99: That’s rather harsh. Her father has just been caught in a gay porn scandal and a bunch of lies that are all playing out very publicly. With this plastered all over social media, you don’t know how much she’s seen/read (I read he got tag teamed by the other two guys in the vid). It’s definitely shocking and embarrassing for his kids that are old enough to know what has happened. She’s going through a lot just like he is.
drivendervish
This must be the quickest switch from BI to honest I’ve ever seen! It even took Tom Daley a year or so and he didn’t have 10 kids to worry about. I think the oldest daughter deserves a break, this is a lot to handle in a short time and she may come around.
moldisdelicious
@Rogério Machado: @M Jaime Rodriguez: I agree but think the circumstances to his coming out is hilarious though. The P will set you free.
Bob LaBlah
I know this is going to come off as insulting to many of you commenters who happen to be black but I am going to lay it out STRAIT forward to you: have you ALL forgotten that this is AMERICA we live in and that shit actually SELLS here in America if marketed right? Ask the Kardashians about shame and money and see which one wins out over the other.
Too many of your comments skirt the sanctimonious approach. Ok, the girls father has been exposed and she is upset. Killing himself is going to solve WHAT? Maybe she will come to the conclusion that a “rocket scientist” is what her father WASN’T and he acted accordingly. Any fool who has taken 6th grade economics can put two and two together as figure out the guy needed money and went for it. I bet he walked away from that video shoot with more money than he would have had he been in the boxing ring. Why not take the damn notoriety this has sparked and CAPITALIZE on it?
I am now beginning to see that what many of my kind say behind your backs just might be true as to “get up off your ass and learn to do for self and quit complaining”. America is about money. Case closed. Jury dismissed. You guys come off worse than ol’ Eddie Long down in Atlanta in many of your summations of the event. Say what you want about Bishop Long but one this is clear; when the shit hit the fan he clearly had/had access to the money to pay up and did, didn’t he? The last I heard he hasn’t gone out and applied for welfare benefits like this dummy sure as hell will have to if he doesn’t act upon his new found fame SOON.
If that daughters age is NOT a misprint this guy is lying about his age. As I said, he better shut the fuck up and let some one who knows what they are doing put his ass out on the market. He can do better there than in that damn ring after this unfortunate exposure. He only had two years at best left in that damn ring anyway. If that many.
marcinmass
So it wasn’t acting at all in porn flick i guess. Really it took having 10 kids before you figured this out. It’s too bad that layers of homophobia were realized by him and hope he still is supporting his kids. As a society we have a long way to go to remove these layers influenced by culture, religion, family, etc. It takes balls to come out and kudos to him for finally accepting his true sexual orientation.
Quingcess
What’s next lesbian or trans?
PRINCE OF SNARKNESS aka DIVKID
Here’s the longer version of the interview. I think he comes out a bit more cogent. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ul8AbUlj1UM
Arcamenel
@marcinmass: Systemic inequality is a thing. You sound like those rightwingers who say everyone should just pull themselves up by the bootstraps while conveniently ignoring the fact that many of us(minorities and the poorest of the poor) are still waiting for the boots.
Arcamenel
@marcinmass: Sorry I replied to the wrong person that was for @Bob LaBlah:
Arcamenel
I hope the mother of his eldest daughter was of similar age because if she was an older woman that was rape.
Anyway yes I did the “bi now gay later” thing when I was coming out but the difference is I didn’t have to do it so publicly.
Woody
@Cam: Hard to say that his charges against DawgPoundUSA hurt them in any way. He said they drugged him, the whole world had a good laugh at that. How was DawgPound harmed? They say in basketball, “No harm, no foul.”
Let’s bet that by now DawgPound has reached out to ask him to star in several more videos, because NOW HE IS A STAR. That video is surely DawgPound’s Number One seller of the year. More sales come every time another article lands on Queerty. LOL. And DawgPound knows, Theres no such thing as bad publicity.
Brian
Yes, he’s a gay man who reportedly has 10 children as a result of wild, passionate sex with at least one woman. Gay…yeah, right.
My view is that he probably felt that he could sound more like a victim by saying he’s gay. It’s called the gay victim card. His statements have varied from one day to the next, so it’s not unlikely. I wonder if it’s also because he has an agent who is telling him to say he’s gay.
lauraspencer
@M Jaime Rodriguez:
True, but most people who have this kind of struggle at 18, 20 or 25 and not 35 in 2015 when there have already been several gay black athletes who were higher profile leading the way… John Amechi, Carl Lewis, Michael Sam and Jason Collins.
PRINCE OF SNARKNESS aka DIVKID
@lauraspencer:
Carl Lewis???!! Lolwut. In Troy Aikman could get lost in that queen’s closet
PRINCE OF SNARKNESS aka DIVKID
*evenTroy Aikman could get lost in that queen’s closet
Brian
Yes, I’m sure Yusuf Mack struggled with his sexuality while impregnating at least one woman. Such a struggle, the poor dear. He must have been terribly conflicted while obtaining a huge erection, the poor love. Oh, the struggle. Oh, the humanity.
Brian
Yusuf Mack’s daughter reportedly attacked him. It reinforces my argument that women often force men to declare themselves gay even if they also have sexual feelings for women. Women are VERY homophobic in this regard.
Here’s the article, which I would love Queerty to highlight. It reinforces my constant points about women being resentful to male bisexuality:
http://www.newnownext.com/boxer-yusaf-mack-comes-out-as-gay-says-daughter-told-him-to-kill-himself/11/2015/
Juanjo
It does amaze me how some members of the gay community have some serious issues when it comes to compassion. Here is a guy who comes form a sector of society which is completely hostile on virtually every level towards gay people. Imagine growing up like that and not having some serious issues. This is not some kid from a middle class, suburban family who would be likely to support a person coming out as gay.
I was pretty harsh on this guy when he first claimed he was drugged. But he has now attempted to explain himself.
SonOfKings
While watching this messy saga unfold, I find myself thinking “Where is this man’s boyfriend and why is he not helping him through his struggles?” Well, I guess when you are not out from an early age and schooled in the ways of our world, you don’t develop the networks and support systems that may eventually come to your defense and rescue. Dude, get yourself a boyfriend!
davidjohng
I think our role is not to judge but to have compassion for him. Can you imagine the road someone has to take to self love and authenticity to go from having 10 kids with a woman to coming out? Like a lot of us he has faced internalized homophobia from a whole arena of cultural/religious and probably family sources since he was young. Like I said it’s not our place to judge no matter what his “road” has been.
Hussain-TheCanadian
(rolls eyes)
Glücklich
Actually, he’s not bi, he’s gay…
Actually, he’s not a boxer, he’s Jay-Z…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lyUhISyap3E
Brian Cherry
Well this escalated quickly.
Bob LaBlah
@Arcamenel: A good rags-to-riches story is Daymon John. He saw an opportunity and jumped on it. He started sewing those hats together in his own living room and look where he is now, worth a quarter of a billion dollars.
If he had ANY sense he would get himself over to B&H Photo at 9th ave and 34th street, invest in a good used HD camera for around $2k and get busy. This guy can market himself and his newly established porn company and simply say fuck dawgpound. The shit that comes out of dawgpound is low quality (but HOT models). It is plainly obvious that NO experience behind a camera is necessary. All you have to do is film the action and make sure the guys are hot. Obvious in ALL gay thug porn quality is not an issue. The models are all that count. And I feel CERTAIN he will not have a problem attracting them.
The “points” you are bringing up played out with the twist. Get with it an make some money (LEGALLY and WITHOUT making an ass of some one else’s trust hard earned dough that your intentions are only to take from them) off of people whose desire is to be entertained. That is all porn does and he is doing it NOW without being paid. That victim shit no longer has merit. Why do you think no one is listening to affirmative action cases/claims anymore?
I am beginning to feel sorry for him because I bet he is listening to the same bullshit or some fool trying to steer him to the biggest ripoff of all, religion. I am willing to bet that by 7pm Saturday evening he announces what church he is going to join on Sunday. Watch and see. What a dummy.
Larry Belusko
I am just glad for him if he is finally happy. After 10 kids it must have been hard to face it all.
Dmitri Shakhov
I’m glad he finally came out. I can only imagine how hard it was for him considering he is a father of ten. His life is only going to get better.
Daniel-Reader
Good for him for coming out. Not easy for anyone if your family and surrounding area are not supportive.
Robbie Martinez
No surprise there He’s a big old bottom.
inbama
This is nothing but bisexual erasure.
At this very moment hundreds of thousand of bisexuals are slitting their wrists as a result of this cruel mislabeling.
Tampabiker
Look, the guy’s been through a lot–he needs a big HUG! GIVE IT TO HIM! It’s not easy being an athlete, or anyone in in the spotlight. Give him a break, and a big warm hug.
DuMaurier
@Colin McCoy: Colin, you are way too nice for this environment.
Kangol
@PRINCE OF SNARKNESS aka DIVKID: Thanks for the link.
I feel compassion for this man, though I wish he had not lied about Dawgpound. But they took the necessary steps to shut that down.
Ultimately I’m glad Yusaf Mack is out. He’ll be able to live more freely, and his oldest daughter will get over herself. It’ll take time but she will.
One point: he has appeared in more than one video, though. B. Scott featured a shot of him in another, perhaps Taggaz or one of those lower-budget porn studios.
cancorv
@Sebastian Holiday: Yep, I’m with you. It must have been tough. Good luck to him.
Eldred
@Colin McCoy: Exactly, and thank you. The people that comment on Queerty are such filth.
Sluggo2007
Who, exactly, gives a shit?
Black Pegasus
Knowing that he can physically beat the living shtt out of your average homophobe walking the street is a plus for me. I love masculine dudes who don’t mind bending over. On another note, he needs a ‘go fund me’ account to fix these teeth. So distracting.
Dev.C
After seeing his Scene with dog pound USA, it’s pretty evident that he’s gay, he obviously loves the D.
stanhope
@Masc Pride: @Masc Pride: @Masc Pride: as a transexual friend of mine often says….today’s trade tomorrow’s competition
GayEGO
Good luck and hopefully he has resolved his gender identity as well as his gender attraction. It still is not easy but it is getting easier as civilization learns and evolves to support us.
Mark Cloostermans
No more news on “whoremonger” Yusaf Mack? Awww. I was getting used to my daily dose!
sweven
Why is there always so many of us LGBTQ throwing stones at our gay bros and sistas? I was once like that myself; it is called internalized homophobia.
Coming out is hard for everyone, especially within the African-American community. Also it is a process, it is personal, and each story is different. The only common denominators are: it is typically hard and frightening. I celebrate this guy’s coming out and I wish him a happy life.
Internalized homophobia refers to associating with shame to our own and others LGBTQ identities. (Herek, Gillis, & Cogan, 2009). In my words, it refers to self-loathing expressed in stigmatizing our own fellow gay brothers and sisters. In yet more simple words, internalized homophobia is just self-homophobia that manifests itself in being critical of our fellow LGBTQ’s (meaning, becoming a hateful bitch. I myself have been there done that, got over it, thank You Jesus).
I remember how I discovered my internalized homophobia. I was dating Mr Dj. (now my human hubby). We went to watch a movie.
As I was in the lineup waiting to enter the theater I saw this poster of the upcoming 2013 version of “Oz”. I immediately related it to the musical “Wicked” and these words came straight out of my brain through my asshole-ish mouth:
What is it with gays and wicked? If there was an alien invasion I’d hope the aliens take all of those Wicked lovers queers with their stupid Judy Garland worship, I’d hope the aliens eat all of them!
I topped up my stupidity by saying it loudly to purposely make the people around me to listen. I was expecting approval from them.
DAD immediately put into my heart two questions, why do you hate them so much? And what happened to “love your neighbor”?
I thought; yes DAD, why am I so bitterly critical towards my fellow LGBTQ’s? I really didn’t know why.
With my DAD’s, I mean God’s, guidance I realized:
I had been brainwashed by society into hating LGBTQ’s, myself included. Since feminine guys and masc lesbians are the easiest target, society teaches us to hate them the most. It happens to all of us. As children, we know deep inside we are gay but everyone around us reinforces the idea that that being gay is wrong and despicable. In doing so, we also learn to hate ourselves.
Thank DAD, many of us figure things out at some point and stop the cycle. Or so we think, because some of the brainwashed ideas and attitudes remain as bugs in our minds.
The argument that feminine gay guys misrepresent the gay community is another example of internalized homophobia. I declare myself guilty of once having this bug in my head too. But now I really feel and think feminine guys are worthy of admiration. They are who they are, in a world where being oneself is usually regulated and judged by bigotry. They are street-fighters, brave guys! We owe them a lot as many of them have been the front runners in pursuing our civil rights. We have gone a long way but we need to continue growing and strengthening ourselves as a united front, a community, we are brothers and sisters, we are family, lets support each other, lets live by the golden rule.
And that was my case when I asked myself why was I being so critical of my fellow LGTBQ’S. I was in the middle of my own journey to believing DAD, that He loves me; unconditionally, infinitely and perfectly. And being gay is not only okay but it is my DAD’s given identity for me, it is a blessing not a sin. *(curious about this? Check it out at the end)
So once DAD taught me I had internalized homophobia He kindly deleted the bug in my brain. I was able to stop hating myself by hating my fellow LGBTQ’s. I can’t believe I was once that stupid, but I am happy now being free of those bugs. I hope sharing my story helps someone out there with the same problems.
* DAD doesn’t make mistakes, right? That is one of many hypocritical arguments bigots and religion use against us LGBTQ children. Well, they are right! He doesn’t! As DAD Himself revealed to me when I asked Him, straight forward; DAD, why am I gay? His answer was very simple: “I made you that way and I make no mistakes!”
If you don’t believe me, take a bible and check it out yourself. Psalm 139:13 says :
Certainly you [DAD] made my mind and heart;
You wove me together in my mother’s womb. NET
PS
Hi, my name is Christian. I am a fellow LGBTQ human. I am a long time student of the Bible and after many years of being guided by the Holy Spirit I was finally able to understand that God loves us exactly the way we are, we are His children and our gay identity is His gift to us. Now I want to share this good news to my fellow LGBTQ’s. So I am working at starting a ministry called Heavenly Father.
I am not a pastor, I am not a preacher, I am just a fellow human who is passionate about God. My God given call for this ministry is just to share how God has helped me in my past, what He is doing in my present, and the dreams He has put in my heart for the future. If perhaps you are in any of the same circumstances as I have been, then I hope that this might help you.
Heavenly Father Church is, at the moment, just an idea, a dream that The Lord has put in my heart, but I am convinced that with His guidance this Church will become a place where we can have fellowship with other gay Christians while we are pursuing a relationship with our Heavenly Father.
My email is [email protected]
moldisdelicious
@Bob LaBlah:
SHUT UP!
daveku
@Colin McCoy: Thank you for being a voice of reason. So often the sharpened emory boards come out when someone does not follow the gay handbook. Unfortunately, there IS NO HANDBOOK. We have to figure it out for ourselves, and if we are lucky lean on sympathetic members of the community without getting shot in the face with hairspray. We can be a hateful and petty bunch.
Brian
@Dev.C: Well, he loves the pussy too, otherwise he wouldn’t have all those offspring. Must be straight, then…
Brian
The bottom line is that he appears to be trying to mix his sexuality with porn. Sexuality and porn are not the same thing. Sexuality is free, porn is paid. One is natural, the other is prostitution.
Cityrat2015
Geesh. Give this guy a break. 35 years old; 10 kids; first one when he was only 12 years old.Obviously having a tough life and struggling to figure it out.
dre23222
This was easy from the beginning. He was being a bottom in the video for one. So he had to get cleaned out to do that. Who in the right mind would believe his first story is beyond me.
dre23222
@Corey J Hodges: HI you doing Corey. handsome
SonOfKings
@Bob LaBlah: Dude, you were right. Yusaf Mack is in Hollywood hosting parties at glitzy gay nightclubs. He’s surrounded by a new circle of influential Black, gay men who are helping him take advantage of his new opportunities. If he plays his cards right, he build a lucrative new career as a personality on the gay party circuit.