Offering a birthday gift to all his fans, Australian cricket star James Faulkner celebrated his birthday by coming out of the closet via Instagram.
Faulkner, who turned 29 this April 29, shocked the sports world by posting a picture of him having dinner with his mom and boyfriend, Rob Jubb. He also confirmed that he and Rob have been a couple for five years.
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Faulkner rocketed to fame in 2012 when he began playing on the Tasmanian cricket team as a bowler. After a first year which saw him take home three “Man of the Match” titles in three different matches, he transferred to the international league. He continues to play for Australia in the international cricket league. His coming out makes him only the third male cricketer in history to come out as a gay man.
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fpcinnyc
Good for him!
PugsBuddy
He appears to have long…legs.
[Yes, they go all the way from his ass to the floor.]
Raphael
He didn’t come out. He said it was a joke, that’s why he added the “best friend” in the caption.
Bryguyf69
According to the Guardian, “best mate,” was not in the original post. He only added it after it became apparent that people thought the joke was serious. Here’s what the Guardian wrote: “Faulkner’s original Instagram post was edited afterwards to add “best mate!!!” but the Twitter post, which is cross-posted automatically from Instagram, cannot be edited.”
Raphael
Bryguyf69, yes. That’s exactly what I said… I think that “added” implies that it was latter, and not in the original caption.
aussiechef
Or did he.?
Can’t seem to hit link. But search in Australia for ABC NEWS Australian cricketer James Faulkner ‘was joking’ about having a boyfriend
Bryguyf69
“Faulkner rocketed to fame in 2012…”
Er, cricket is such a rarefied sport that I don’t think anyone playing it can “rocket to fame.” At best, they’d only be famous in their own country, and we’re only talking about the British Commonwealth countries. Heck, I don’t think it’s even all that popular in Canada.
Regardless, it seems like it was all a lighthearted joke and Jubb is merely a friend.
JPGUY
He took it back. What a fun joke at our expense.
Bryguyf69
Not only is Jubb not his boyfriend, but he apparently isn’t even gay. He just explicitly said so in a Tweet: “There seems to be a misunderstanding about my post from last night, I am not gay, however it has been fantastic to see the support from and for the LBGT community. Let’s never forget love…”
While he is trying to put a gay-positive spin on the joke, many gays and even straight commentators are pretty pissed off. Some say that it was in poor taste, and mocks gay relationships. I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt and say that was just a lighthearted joke that he never expected anyone to take seriously. Similarly, many of my gay friends jokingly identify me as their boyfriend even though I’m straight. And as I point out in a previous post, this is just cricket so he never thought the joke would go beyond his Instagram followers.
It’ll be interesting to see what the fallout is, and whether he’ll have to make amends. It’ll also be interesting to see how Queerty reacts. Will the editors delete this article?
Donston
It would have been a rather refreshingly casual yet assertive form of outing yourself: introducing your significant other in a basic dinner pic, highlighting your love and commitment toward him and not feeling the need to immediately push identity or offer some long-winded and weepy statement. However, it’s apparently just a “lighthearted” joke.
Bryguyf69
Yeah, I’m currently doing some research on the how coming out has changed through the decades. Apparently, many gay Generation Zers don’t even bother to come out to acquaintances, e.g. classmates, distant relatives and co-workers, anymore. They merely post a romantic photo with a same-sex partner and assume people will see it. Or even more casually, just indicate that they seek relationships with men (if they’re male) on the Facebook field. No drama, no fanfare.
Donston
That is the best way to avoid the drama. However, I came out by just showing up to my parents’ house with my bf. And they knew what was up. So, there have always been more casual alternatives. But when it comes to “public figures” (especially the ones looking to get attention) they tend not to go with the more subdued and unpretentious route.
Bryguyf69
Here’s Faulkner’s complete explanatory Tweet: “There seems to be a misunderstanding about my post from last night, I am not gay, however it has been fantastic to see the support from and for the LBGT community. Let’s never forget love is love, however @robjubbsta is just a great friend. Last night marked five years of being house mates! Good on everyone for being so supportive.”
Cricket Australia added, “His comment was made as a genuine reflection of his relationship with his business partner, best friend and house mate of five years… James and CA are supportive of the LGBQTI community and recognises coming out can be an incredibly emotional time. The post was not in any way meant to make light of this and, though the support from the community was overwhelming and positive… Cricket Australia apologises for any unintended offence.”
I have only one question: What the heck is “LGBQTI”??? My usage stopped at, “LGBT.” What is “Q”? Is it Queer? Questioning? Quantifiable? What about “I”? Is it Intersex? Idiomatic? Ill-advised?
Donston
It’s not that difficult to just look this stuff up. And yes, the “I” stands for intersex. To most people the “Q” means “queer”. Though some use it for “questioning”. While “queer” can mean anyone who’s not entirely heterosexual and/or cis gender (including very hetero-leaning and cis gender people). Or it can be synonymous with gay. Or it can be synonymous with bi/pan. Or it can be synonymous with having attractions/preferences/romantic interests that lean towards trans people. Or it can mean simply being a “quirky” and “unusual” person.
I take this lettering stuff far less seriously than I take identity. Identity can be problematic, because identity is still too tied to sociology, politics and commercialism. And the emphasis on identity doesn’t allow us to accept that everyone is different. However, identity is often a very personal thing as far as someone feeling free and asserting their sense of self, their preferences, their ambitions and so on. But this LGBTQI etc. stuff is almost always entirely about sociology and politics. The grouping of these letters and all these people just feel like desperation to link everyone who’s “different” to one another. Though I try not to be disrespectful about it.
Raphael
While it was not that terrible or harmful, it was NOT a “misunderstanding” either. To use the word “boyfriend” and add a hashtag 5yearstogether… The intention was clear! Like I said, it’s not harmful, but it was poor taste. Our sexuality it is not a joke, not in the times we are living, where you can be stoned to death for being gay.
nitejonboy
Not cool man, we aren’t Jokes to be made at our own expense.
VarlaSpanxClovenhoof
Perhaps the media might have confirmed the news with him first? It’s called JOURNALISM.
Donston
Well, it’s not as if this site (and a great deal of “queer media” for that matter) is known for its journalistic integrity. While his post did seem like a fairly straight-forward “we’re a couple and I love this person”. So, I get why they jumped on it.
When stuff like this happens you do wonder whether it was legit joking or not. The NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, the entire men’s tennis tour and the upper echelon of international men’s soccer has no player who is openly in a same-sex relationship. That’s thousands and thousands of dudes. It lets you know that there’s still a decent amount of social, economic and ego pressure to stay closeted in the sports world. Still, all we can do is take his word.
CanadianGuy62
In terms of drawing attentwon to one’s self, it seems to make more sense than hiring two black guys to pretend to be racist white guys and beat you up. Then again, that story got more traction than this will (and we all know there’s no such thing as bad publicity … just ask a certain occupant if the White House).
As for the details of this story itself, while this site is not exactly known for investigative journalism, it would seem a simple Google search could have “outed” it as a joke (a dumb joke, I might add).
Bryguyf69
It was not yet revealed as a joke when Queerty wrote this article. Indeed, many major publications such as The Guardian also published articles about Faulkner coming out. In Queerty’s defense, they don’t do primary journalism (e.g. their own investigations or interviews) — they merely summarize other sources. And at the time, they summarized the story accurately and responsibly. Indeed, they went above and beyond the main story of coming out, and included information on his cricket record as well as Instagram photos. So it wasn’t lazy journalism at all. Furthermore, Faulkner is not known as media-hungry or a jokester, so there was never any reason to not take his post literally. Compare with Jaden Smith’s declaration of love for Tyler the Creator. That was greeted with skepticism by many, including Queerty. I’ve been a major critic of Queerty but in this case they get a pass.
Gregg
He must be straight, because I‘m attracted to him! #StoryOfMyLife
avesraggiana
This. Right here.
wolfman6
There have been quite a few of these “coming out” posts then a day or two later retractions saying “No, I’m not gay it was just a joke.” Taron Egerton for example. I don’t think these were meant to be jokes. I think these guys are honestly trying to come out non-chalantly on their social media accounts rather than do a big announcement. But the retraction that comes a day or two later I’m willing to bet, is coming from their management teams who are telling them to get back in the closet and tell people it was just a joke. It’s too bad that these guys can’t just be themselves and say Hey – I have a boyfriend. But sadly, in the public eye, money counts and everyone who manages celebrities, including gay men themselves, thinks they have to keep these guys straight or their careers will end. Uh, Matt Bomer, anyone?
nm4047
why this not be deleted, next day he posted what he meant and that he wasn’t gay but having dinner with his best mate, surely this should now just be archived.