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Celebrities

'Supernatural' star DJ Qualls opens up about his coming out journey at work

Courtesy of Rich Polk/GettyImages

While Qualley didn't come out publicly until 2020, he came out at work in 2015 in a stand against casual homophobia he witnessed on there. "I deserve respect because I give it," said Qualls.

Rowan Ashley Smith

Rowan Ashley Smith has often been described as "a multi-hyphenate about town." He loves work that connects him to his cultures as a gay, Jewish, multiracial trans man. Before breaking into journalism, the best days of his professional life were spent as a summer camp professional, a librarian, and an HIV prevention specialist. His work has been featured in GO Magazine, pride.com, and The Advocate. In what is left of his free time, Rowan enjoys performing stand up comedy, doing the NYT crossword, and spending time with his two partners, two children, and four cats.

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Rowan Ashley Smith

@politebotanist

October 16 2024 5:08 PM EST

Even in places that are more queer-centric than average, homophobia is still, unfortunately, alive and well.

Hollywood might have a thriving queer culture, and there are more out actors and industry professionals at all levels of film and TV production, but there are still those who carry backward and hateful opinions about LGBTQ+ people. Actor DJ Qualls, best known for his portrayal of Garth on Supernatural, spoke out about his decision to be open about his sexuality was influenced by the kind of homophobia still prevalent today.

While on the podcast Inside of You with Michael Rosenbaum, Qualls was asked about his coming out journey. ""I’ve been out since 19 or 18," Qualls told Rosenbaum, adding about Hollywood, "But not here, because it wasn't cool when I got here." Qualls recounted the time at his very first press junket when a "very famous director-producer" said that he almost didn't cast actor Seann William Scott because "he thought he was a f*ggot. That's the way it was."

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"I wasn’t out at work until I think 2015. I just didn’t want to deal with it." But after years of putting up with casual homophobia, Qualls decided enough was enough.

"But then one day I realized, why should I have to be at craft service and hear a bunch of homophobic shit wrecking my day?" said Qualls. From there, he decided to start speaking up for himself, "Then I was like, 'Hey, I don't want to hear that' And I get it, it's guy talk, and they don't think about the context of it, but I don't want to hear it. I wouldn’t correct you in front of a group of people, but I definitely will pull you aside and say, 'Hey, I'm gay.'"

Qualls said that this came from him being "cognizant of owning my space at work," as he should. He said, "I'm there to do a job. I'm hired because I do that job well, and I deserve respect because I give it."

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Qualls also clarified that he wasn't trying to be the "thought police" by any means, but "If I'm hearing 'f*ggot' nine times from you when I'm trying to butter a bagel, I don't want to hear that."

It wasn't until 2020, at age 41, that Qualls came out officially. He posted to X (formerly Twitter) after an appearance on The Jim Jeffries Show where he came out on stage. While this was news to many, Qualls did clarify that he's been "gay the whole time."

— (@)

In May of this year, Qualls announced that he was in a relationship with and now engaged to fellow Supernatural actor Ty Olsson. This was great news for Supernatural fans, who had been shipping the actors' characters together long before Qualls was even out.

Qualls's full episode of Inside of You with Michael Rosenbaum is available wherever you get your podcasts.