Massive kudos to Paul Iacono, the star of MTV’s The Hard Times Of RJ Berger, who has come out publicly.
He reveals in an interview with The Village Voice that he tried coming out several times as early as aged 13, but was brushed off by people including his father.
“I tried coming out a couple of times as a kid, from 13-14 on, and was always squashed on,” he says, elaborating:
“I went to the Professional Performing Arts school in Manhattan. My father found an email correspondence of me planning a date with another male student, very innocent. I had to deny it… I was just coming to terms with the fact that I was bisexual, which culturally I do identify with as a gay man — I am attracted to girls, I’m just attracted to guys much more. My father quickly stomped that. He wanted to pull me from the school… I had to feign heterosexuality for a couple of years. It messed with my head. It took me a longer time to be OK with it. It was not until I was 18 that I came out with my mom and 20 with my dad.”
The actor now stars in MTV’s Kenzie’s Scale as a gay character, and says he is happy to be a role model “so kids won’t have to grow up and be afraid of their sexuality.”
“It’s not about me, it’s about change and the work,” he said.
