37 Notable People Who Came Out in 2019

2019 was a long, long, LONG year...

...and so many celebrities and notables decided to make it the year they opened up about their sexuality or gender identity and publicly live their truths! Move over 20gayteen! 2019 was the queerest year yet!

Anthony Bowens

Professional wrestler Anthony Bowens, left, (who previously came out as bisexual in 2017) came out as gay in January during a YouTube video with his boyfriend Michael Pavano, right.

"I prefer to be labeled now as gay," Bowens said, stating that he no longer felt comfortable identifying as bisexual because he can only envision himself with a man. The 28-year-old athlete said he came to a full realization about his sexual orientation over a long period of time.

"Most people who come out say they had a moment in their youth when they figured out something was different," Bowens said. "They just knew they were gay. I never had one of those moments."

Valentina

In a January interview with Out Magazine, Drag Race All Stars 4 alum and RENT star Valentina opened up about her non-binary gender identity. 

"I identify as nonbinary," she said. "I don’t completely feel like a man, I don’t completely feel like a woman. I feel like a goddess. I feel like I’m my own gender."

Stormy Daniels

Stormy Danies confirmed her bisexuality in January during a bizarre Twitter argument between conservative TV personality Tomi Lahren and Daniels’ attorney Michael Avenatti. When one Twitter user wrote "I'd pay good money to see Stormy Daniels beat the shit out of Tomi Lahren," Daniels jumped in with one of her signature salty responses that also revealed something about her sexual identity. When another Twitter user jumped in and questioned if Daniels was a lesbian, she clarified that she is bisexual.

"Nope...I like to fuck men and women. It's called bisexual," Daniels tweeted.

Matt Pacifici

The former Major League Soccer player came out as gay together with his boyfriend in a January Instagram post, making him the fifth current or former MLS player to publicly come out as gay.

"When you’re in a relationship that makes you happy, and on social media you see people posting about their girlfriends, it feels weird not being a part of that," Pacifici explainedin an interview with Outsports about the cute AF Insta post. "You want them to know. This relationship is the one that makes me the most happy ever in my life."

He continued, "The more people who come out, the easier it will be for other people to follow."

Woody Cook

The British model and son of British DJ and record producer Fatboy Slim came out as bisexual in a January interview with the UK's Boys by Girls magazine. 

"...I'm bisexual. I'm a bit of a free thinker. I don't care what gender someone is. I'm quite laid back about most things in life, including my sexual orientation," Cook said when asked by Boys by Girls to explain who he is to people who don't know him. 

"It’s something I’ve known for three years," Cook said, explaining how he discovered his sexuality. "I always felt, growing up, that I had all these thoughts and I just shook it off."

Ben Platt

Coinciding with the release of the music video for his song "Ease My Mind" (which co-starred openly gay actor Charlie Carver), Tony winner Ben Platt publicly opened up about his sexuality and being in love with men in a February interview with People Magazine.

"When we were conceptualizing this sort of loose narrative that we wanted to connect through the videos, there was not really any moment where we had to decide it should be about me and a man as opposed to anything else," Platt told People about the making of the videos for "Ease My Mind" and "Bad Habit" (which also starred Carver). "Because it was just, 'We’re going to represent what this was inspired by,' which was this man that I was in love with. So it was really a no-brainer."

He continued, "I’ve been out since I was 12 years old to my family and anyone in my life. I’ve never sort of hidden that or been ashamed by it. It’s just part of me."

Lilly Singh

The YouTube star and NBC late night host came out on Twitter in February after posting a super casual tweet last night, ticking off boxes on a list reading "female, coloured, bisexual."

"Throughout my life these have proven to be obstacles from time to time. But now I’m fully embracing them as my superpowers," she added. "No matter how many 'boxes' you check, I encourage you to do the same x."

Ryan Sampson

After receiving a homophobic direct message, the British TV star took to Twitter in late February to share a (super cute!!!) picture of he and his boyfriend. 

"I was on Instagram and I looked at my direct messages and it turned out someone was trying to rope me in to some (pretty creaky) homophobic banter," the actor, who is best known for playing Grumio on the ITV series Plebs, said in his tweet. "Huh! So, for clarity, here’s a pic of me and the boyf. Just to, y’know...straighten that one out. As it were."

Sam Smith

The Oscar-winning, "Dancing With a Stranger" singer came out as genderqueer and non-binary during an interview in March with The Good Place's Jameela Jamil.

"I’ve always been very free in terms of thinking about sexuality," they said. "I’ve tried to change that into my thoughts on gender."

Smith embraces both the non-binary and genderqueer labels, and explains it to Jamil as, "You do not identify in a gender. You are a mixture of all these different things. You are your own special creation. That is how I take it. I am not male or female. I think I float somewhere in between—somewhat on the spectrum."

Ariana Grande

The pop icon caused quite the stir in April when she released a song with her best friend Victoria Monét entitled "Monopoly." On the track, Ari sings the line "I like women and men," causing many people in her fandom to speculate that the "7 Rings" singer has come out as bisexual. 

When a fan tweeted "Ariana ain’t gotta label herself, but she said what she said," Grande then responded, addressing the issue by saying "I haven’t before and still don’t feel the need to now which is okay."

Caitlin Kinnunen

After going viral in Fall 2018 for being part of the first same-gender kiss in the history of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, Broadway actress and The Prom star Caitlin Kinnunen came out as dating a woman in an April 2019 interview with Nylon. 

"I have identified as a straight ally for a very long time, but recently my world has kind of opened up and I'm currently dating a woman and it is magical and new and exciting, and I’m loving it," she told the fashion rag. "I’m who I am and I think that’s worth fighting for."

Tyler Blackburn

The Pretty Little Liars star came out as bisexual in an April interview with The Advocate. 

"I'm queer," Blackburn, who now plays the openly-gay Sgt. Alex Manes character on The CW's Roswell: New Mexico, said. "I've identified as bisexual since a teenager."

Talking about playing queer on-screen, he continued: 

"I knew this guy in and out. I understood feeling oppressed. I understood having issues with my father [wanting to feel] accepted by him. I understood wanting something but being afraid to have it. I understood self-doubt."

Clairo

The "Flamin Hot Cheetos" and "Throwaway" singer came out as not straight in an interview with PRIDE following her Coachella debut in April. 

"I'm still not really sure what my sexuality is, but I do know that it's not straight," she said. "I'm having my gay sob right now, where I'm just letting all my emotions out and finally crying from that experience when I was twelve years old, 'Why are girls so hot?'"

She continued: 

"A lot of my new songs are directed towards women, are obviously about women. There are a couple songs that I made that are about women that are extremely upbeat, and I wanted that. They're a little corny and they're just happy songs."

Andy Brennan

Australian soccer star Andy Brennan became the first former A-League player to come out as gay after he took to Instagram in May to publicly share his truth with his fans.

"It’s taken me years to get comfortable saying this—I’m gay," he wrote. "I was scared it would affect my friendships, my teammates, and my family."

He continued:

"But the support of the people around me has been so great and helped me get to the final step; being completely open. Being open is the best way for me to feel most comfortable and be myself. So…carry on!"

Michael D. Cohen

In a May interview with TIME, the Nickelodeon star who is most recently known for his role as Schwoz on the show Henry Danger, publicly revealed that he was assigned female at birth and transitioned back in 2000.

"[People] think this has to do with pushing an agenda on kids and it doesn’t," he said about deciding to come out. "What it does is send a message to kids that whoever they are, however they identify, that’s celebrated and valued and okay."

Juan Castano

Juan Castano, one of the actors on Renée Zellweger's Netflix series What/If who plays a gay character named Marcos, opened up his own fluid sexuality IRL in a May interview with NewNowNext.

"I would say that for the majority of my life I identified as straight, but as I got older I think my sexual preference has gotten more fluid," Castano said when asked about how he identifies. "I am, as my friends say, on the spectrum."

Shea Couleé

In a May interview with Them, RuPaul's Drag Race season 9 finalist Shea Couleé opened up about their gender identity. 

"For me in my personal life, being nonbinary is just a lot easier," Couleé told the outlet. "It feels less forced."

Jonathan Van Ness

The Queer Eye grooming expert and Gay of Thrones star came out as nonbinary in a June interview with Out.

"The older I get, the more I think that I’m nonbinary—I’m gender nonconforming," JVN said when asked about what it feels like to be a spokesperson for nail polish company Essie, a brand that is predominantly marketed towards women. "Like, some days I feel like a man, but then other days I feel like a woman. I don’t really — I think my energies are really all over the place."

He continued: 

"Any opportunity I have to break down stereotypes of the binary, I am down for it, I’m here for it. I think that a lot of times gender is used to separate and divide. It’s this social construct that I don’t really feel like I fit into the way I used to."

Dan Howell

The popular, longtime British YouTuber publicly came out as gay in a June video to coincide with Pride Month. 

"This really feels like a new chapter for me," he wrote in a tweet to his fans about the response to his coming out. "I doubted all my life that the world would change to be a place I could personally feel open and accepted and that’s because of all of you. Thank you."

Eugene Lee Yang

The popular influencer who rose to digital fame for being a part of BuzzFeed's Try Guys, publicly came out as gay in June after releasing a dramatic, artistic YouTube video simply titled "I'm Gay." 

"I finally felt safe," Yang told PRIDE. "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."

Connor Jessup

The American Crime and Falling Skies actor, who is set to star in Hulu’s upcoming Locke & Key series, came out as gay in June in an emotional Instagram post. 

"I don’t want to be complicit, even peripherally, in the idea that being gay is a problem to be solved or hushed. I’m grateful to be gay. Queerness is a solution," Jessup wrote about why he decided to come out publicly.

"If you’re gay, bi, trans, two-spirit or questioning, if you’re confused, if you’re in pain or you feel you’re alone, if you aren’t or you don’t: You make the world more surprising and bearable,” he continued. “To all the queers, deviants, misfits, and lovers in my life: I love you. I love you. Happy Pride!

Willow Smith

The singer-songwriter opened up about her sexuality and thoughts on "unconventional relationships" in a June episode of Red Table Talk, where she says her ideal relationship is with a man and a woman.

"I love men and women equally and so I would definitely want one man, one woman," she said. "I feel like I could be polyfidelitous with those two people. I’m not the kind of person that is constantly looking for new sexual experiences. I focus a lot on the emotional connection and I feel like if I were to find two people of the different genders that I really connected with and we had a romantic and sexual connection, I don’t feel like I would feel the need to try to go find more."

Khadi Don

 YouTube star and actress Khadi Don posted a sweet and hilarious video in June, simply titled "I'm Gay," officially confirming her sexuality and telling viewers that she's out of the closet.

"Well I'm re-coming out the closet lol. But this time more official so it's no confusion or any more questions cause....I'M TIEED OF EM," she wrote in the video's description. "Happy Pride Month!"

Lil Nas X

The mastermind behind the country-rap crossover hit "Old Town Road" took to Twitter in June to publicly coming out and confirm his sexuality. 

"It’s something I was considering never doing, ever," he told the BBC in an interview after his coming out. "Taking to the grave. But I don’t wanna just live my entire life — especially how I just got to where I’m at — just like, not doing what I wanna do."

Tess Holliday

The model opened up about her pansexuality in a July interview with Nylon Magazine.

"I've been thinking a lot about my relationship to my own queerness, and I think the word pansexual speaks to me more than bi does," she said.

Bella Thorne

In a July interview with Good Morning America, Midnight Sun and Shake It Up actress Bella Thorne opened up about her pansexuality.

"I'm actually a pansexual, and I didn't know that," the 21-year-old, who had previously identified as bisexual, shared. "You like beings. You like what you like. Doesn't have to be a girl, or a guy, a he, a she, a they, or this or that. It's literally...you like personality. You just like a being."

Demi Burnett

The reality TV personality confirmed her sexuality in July after she was seen kissing a woman in the trailer for the sixth season of Bachelor in Paradise.

"I don’t care who sees this," she says in the trailer. "I know that I love this girl. I’m just so happy that I found her, and I can definitely picture being with her for the rest of my life."

"Spoiler alert: I’m a queer queen," she later tweeted.

Julianne Hough

The Rock of Ages star and America's Got Talent judge opened up about her sexuality in an August interview with Women's Health Magazine. 

Recalling an exchange she had with her husband, professional hockey player Brooks Laich, she told him: "'You know I’m not straight, right?' And he was like, 'I’m sorry, what?' I was like, 'I’m not. But I choose to be with you.'"

She continued: "I was connecting to the woman inside that doesn’t need anything, versus the little girl that looked to him to protect me. I was like, 'Is he going to love this version of me?' But the more I dropped into my most authentic self, the more attracted he was to me."

Katherine Barrell

The Wynonna Earp star (and 1/2 of WayHaught, one of our fave queer TV couples of all time) came out as bisexual in a July interview for Diva Magazine's August issue.

"I am attracted to both men and women and the person I fell in love with is a man," she said. "I wish it could just be about the human I am in love with, not their gender. This is why I am so passionate about advocating for equal acceptance across the spectrum of sexuality. Let’s just love who we love and leave each other alone. The world has bigger problems."

Som Hye In

The K-pop singer and former reality TV show contestant came out as bisexual in August after sharing a cute AF picture of her and her girlfriend on Instagram.

"I’m bisexual. And I have [a] girlfriend!" she declared in the Insta pic.

Ryan Russell

The NFL player, who previously played for the Dallas Cowboys and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, came out as bisexual in an August essay for ESPN.

"Withholding information is a form of deceit. And I want the next part of my career—and life—steeped in trust and honesty," he wrote about the decision to finally come out publicly. "During the season you spend more time with your team than with your own family; truth and honesty are the cornerstones of a winning culture. My truth is that I'm a talented football player, a damn good writer, a loving son, an overbearing brother, a caring friend, a loyal lover, and a bisexual man."

Jon Lee-Olsen

Jon Lee-Olsen, a professionally hockey player from Denmark, came out as gay during a live TV interview in October. 

"There’s a risk that some people might shout and heckle me while I’m playing matches," he said. "It’s something I have to be ready for, and be mature about. But I feel that I’m ready to show that you can be gay and play ice hockey."

Kerron Clement

In an October interview with our sister publication Out to celebrate National Coming Out Day, Trinidadian-American track and field athlete and Olympic gold medalist Kerron Clement opened up about his sexuality.

"I was tired of loving in the dark," Kerron, who has competed in the 2008 and 2016 Summer Olympic games, said. "I have been through what a lot of people have been through which is being afraid of being who you are. I struggled with my sexuality for 17 years. Over time, as you get older, you care less. Now it’s time to just be yourself and be free. That’s what I’ve become, free."

Alex Diaz

After being outed online, Filipino-Scottish actor Alex Diaz confirmed his bisexuality in an emotional Instagram post in late October. 

"Never again will I be shackled by the fear of what might be said about who I am for fear of losing my career and instead, I will seek help, heal, and champion change, acceptance, and representation for the bisexual community and/or anyone who is met with prejudice in our society," Diaz said.  

Janne Puhakka

Janne Puhakka, an elite-level former Finnish ice-hockey player, came out as gay in November in an interview with Outsports, days before a Pride-themed showdown between elite teams Ilves and TPS.

"When someone shares their own life deeper than just surface level, it strengthens the team," said Puhakka. "I’m glad if even one junior or professional player finds something positive in this interview."

Brian J. Smith

One of the stars of the beloved Netflix series Sense8, Smith came out as gay in a November interview with Attitude magazine.  

"I could never be who I was," he said about growing up in the closet. "I was constantly having to check myself and make sure I wasn’t looking at someone too long or making someone feel uncomfortable. I had to be very, very careful about telling people the truth about myself. It still reverberates. A lot of my work is about that. The things that move me as an actor are those echoes that come up."

Brigette Lundy-Paine

The star of Netflix's hit series Atypical came out as nonbinary in a November Instagram post.

"I’m nonbinary, always felt a lil bit boy, lil bit girl, lil bit neither," they wrote. "Using they/them as of late n it feels right. scary af to come out n been rly putting this off. But I feel I owe it to myself and to all of us who struggle w gender."