Coming out is never easy, and to do it on camera requires a special type of bravery. These 12 coming out videos are some of our all-time favorites. Check them out, and you just might be inspired to make one of your own!
Prepare for the feels! Austin and Aaron Rhodes are twin brothers who share a YouTube channel, and both identify as gay. In what turns out to be the highest viewed video on this list, the two decide it’s time to call up their father and come out – seeing as he is the last family member to know. You can’t help but feel anxious and nervous for these brothers as you watch them muster up the courage to share their truths with their father. It all becomes worthwhile when you see their father’s reaction.
In what may be one of the most iconic and influential coming out videos yet, actor Elliot Pae comes out during a speech at a Human Rights Campaign event in February of 2014. Elliot engages the audience and viewer with his testimony of strength, and expressions a desire to no longer “lie by omission.”
In this video, you almost can’t help but be moved by Ingrid’s fearlessness. It’s therapeutic watching as the weight fall off of her shoulders as she declares who she is.
YouTube staple Gigi Gorgeous has grown up quite a bit over the years. As such a huge part the YouTube community, it’s fair to say Gigi deserves a place on this list. In this video, Gigi fights off tears as she shares a secret that she has carried with her for such a long time. She manages to turn the video into a moment of reflection and inspiration for viewers, encouraging others to live their own best life, whatever that may be.
Joey Graceffa, a vocalist and YouTube personality, created this video after releasing a music video about two male lovers. The video encouraged others around the world to come out to their loved ones and share their experiences doing so.
Nessa shares the complexities of being bisexual and her struggle to come to terms with her identity. By the end of the video, Nessa makes it clear that her sexuality is not an issue for her, so anyone who does have a problem with it needs to come to terms with that on their own.
Shay decides to call up her Christian mother and confess that she is a lesbian. It takes her a few tries to say what she needs to say, but when she does her mother’s reaction is gold.
On the list again, Gigi now shares her experience being sexually fluid and dating another woman. She addresses people’s need for labels and how labels can damaging to someone who is trying to find their way. Once again, she uses her platform to encourage people to live their life how they see fit.
In this live video, Taylor sits down his dad and tells him what something he's wanted to tell him for a long time. His dad’s reaction isn’t the best, but this video stands out because it shows that even though coming out can be very difficult, you will get through it.
Riyadh sits in a hotel room with his parents as they reminisce on his coming out to them. It’s clear the family has grown tighter since his coming out. The video is filled with nothing but love and support. There’s even a surprise confession from his dad that sends both Riyadh, his mother and the viewer into a shock.
What started off as a class project on ‘Inspiration’ turned into a viral video of a student coming out as transgender.
Troye Sivan is now an out icon, but there was a time when he was scared to share his truth. But in 2013 he opened up about his sexuality in this moving video. "This is probably the most nervous I've ever been in my whole life, he begins sharing that he told his family first but now he's telling the world, "I'm gay."
Coming out videos do not come any more iconic than when Try Guys star Eugene Lee Yang dropped this music video. The production value!
As Yang told PRIDE at the time, "I finally felt safe... I feel like every queer person has the moment where they are elegantly perfecting the craft of withholding just enough, and I realized I was doing that with the audience."
Hannah Hart began her YouTube journey with viral cooking series called "My Drunk Kitchen." But in 2012 she opened up and shared her truth in hopes that it would open the hearts and minds of more people who had already come to love her as a YouTube personality.
Today Olympian diver Tom Daley is out and proud but that journey all began in 2013 when he came out on YouTube.
"In an ideal world, I wouldn't be doing this video because it shouldn't matter," said Daley who said that in the past he had avoided answering questions about who he was dating in interviews but now he was done with that because he met someone special. "they make me feel so happy, so safe, and everything just feels great, and, well, that someone is a guy," he revealed.
