On August 6, 2017, the world was treated to a surprise: Aaron Carter revealed in a Twitter post that he is bisexual. According to the singer and former child star, he started to find boys and girls attractive when he was 13, and not talking about his sexuality has been weighing on his chest for a long time.
Carter is not the only celebrity to have revealed his sexuality after years of feeling weighed down by it. Any Hollywood news follower knows that sexuality is a sensitive topic, as it can ruin a person's career and cause fans to turn away. Or at least that's what celebrities and their managers used to think.
There are brave souls out there who have found their voice when it comes to speaking about their sexuality.
Barry Manilow
People Magazine revealed that the 73-year-old musician married his high school sweetheart Susan Deixler after graduating high school, but according to Barry Manilow, he was not ready for marriage despite being in love with Deixler. The marriage only lasted a year, and his personal life was put on hold as his career took off.
Decades later, Manilow revealed that he has been together with his manager husband Garry Kief for 39 years. The two were married in 2014, with news reaching headlines in 2015. It is only this year, however, that Manilow opened up as to why he decided to keep mum about his relationship and sexuality.
According to Manilow, he thought coming out would lead to his fans being disappointed. He also revealed that he found the reactions to his relationship with Kief "beautiful." For some fans of the singer, the relationship did not come as a surprise.
Kristen Stewart
For Kristen Stewart, coming out followed after she made headlines for being affectionate with a girl.
Stewart "found herself embraced as Hollywood’s most high-profile gay actor, a de-facto poster-girl for the LGBT community," says The Guardian. Stewart says the attention has been mostly positive, but she finds it hard to talk about because she does not want to seem presumptuous.
Stewart also thinks that times are changing. "The whole issue of sexuality is so grey.
I’m just trying to acknowledge that fluidity, that greyness, which has always existed. But maybe only now are we allowed to start talking about it," the "Personal Shopper" actress said.
Greyson Chance
Greyson Chance chose Instagram as his platform for his coming out message, posting the colors of the LGBT flag and saying that he has been inspired by a "brave individual" to reveal more about his private life. Chance proceeded to say that he realized he was gay when he was 16 but chose to remain private about it while "trying to find comfort and confidence" in his own skin.
He also said that conversations about "music, politics, art, [and] books" were more interesting than discussing the type of guy he was into.
"I encourage anyone who is navigating their sexuality to devote as much time as they need to the process of finding self-confidence, self-acceptance, and self-love," Chance said on his Instagram. He also said that he is proud of who he is.
Another celebrity who is constantly plagued by questions about his sexuality is the "Dunkirk" star and One Direction member Harry Styles. Styles, however, says he has never felt the need to label himself. Though their situations differ, Usher also faces questions focusing on his sexuality while involved in a lawsuit.
Stewart may be right. It seems more people are starting to talk about something that could potentially end a celebrity's career. But amidst the possible consequences is the feeling of a weight being lifted off their chest, and for Carter, that is enough.
