Media mishap

Star athlete who came out as gay comes out again… as straight

Don’t believe everything you read on Instagram.

Australian cricket star James Faulkner celebrated his birthday this week by seemingly coming out of the closet via the popular photo-sharing app.

Faulkner, who turned 29, surprised 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.

Rob, it turns out, is not James’ boyfriend. How could everyone have gotten it so wrong?

Could be James’ caption:

“Birthday dinner with the boyfriend…and my mother #togetherfor5years”

Here’s the “coming out post”:

In a followup post featuring James gazing softly at the viewer as if to say, “Hey you, we need to have a chat — but don’t worry, nothing’s wrong,” he clarifies the mishap:

“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.”

Ahh, five years of being housemates, and not in the way that your mom has an uncle who’s had the same “housemate” for the past 33 years.

Here’s the update:

Either way, we’re proud of James for living his true, authentic self, and it’s nice to know he’s a queer ally.

Dan Tracer is a queer writer, noisemaker, and amateur astral projector. Find him on Instagram.

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