Sum Ting Wong reveals the emotional story of coming out to her parents
On 'Drag Race UK', the queen revealed she hadn't come out to her parents yet
By Steve Brown
Words: Steve Brown
Sum Ting Wong reveals the emotional story of coming out to her parents.
During the second episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK, the Chinese/Vietnamese drag queen revealed to the other queens that she was yet to come out to her parents.
Speaking to Vinegar Strokes and Scaredy Kat, Sum Ting revealed she touched on the subject with her father when she was 12 but he didn’t acknowledge it.
She said: “I don’t have the heart to tell them. I think it’s a cultural thing.
“We haven’t brought it up since. They don’t know I’m a drag queen, they don’t know that I’m gay, they don’t know that I live with my partner of five years.”
After the episode aired this Thursday (October 10), Sum Ting took to Instagram to shine light on her relationship with her parents now and said they have accepted who she is.
She wrote: “This was the hardest episode of @dragraceukbbc for me to watch, it’s something unless I’m pressed to talk about I rarely bring up. I didn’t ever properly come out to my parents.
“Growing up in a traditional oriental household, I always knew I was a little different, but being the first son of a first generation Chinese/Viet household I felt I had the world on my shoulders and a responsibility to be the ‘perfect son’ my dad always told me “You and your brothers are like a train, you are the oldest and you are the front of the train, and if you veer off course, your brothers will too” so I always felt I had a responsibility to BE normal, to BE exactly what my parents wanted for me, but that just wasn’t the case.
“I felt me being gay would be the straw the broke the camels back and I would lose all the respect of my parents, because I’d be the first homosexual (bi/poly actually but that’s another story) and that as long as I lived, I would do everything to keep this from them.
“All my successes, all my achievements, my partner of 6 years who I love dearly, hidden forever.
“It was only after getting on Drag Race I felt like this would be the opportunity to finally tell them.
“This HUGE platform that would change my life forever. my mother always guessed I was but never asked out of respect for me (she’s not stupid lol) and it’s been tough, my parents love me for who I am and my dad said, ‘You are a biggest man, you have the courage to tell me you are gay. I have a gay son! and I don’t care! And if anyone says ‘’your son is gay’ I don’t care! Because I love you, you are the best son, my first son, my favourite son’
“And I can’t tell you how long I’ve waited to hear those words,
“I just wanted to share my story because i know someone out there watching is in the same situation as me.
“You don’t need to rush it, but in time everything happens for a reason.
“I’d just like to thank @dragraceukbbc @worldofwonder for finally letting me be my best version of myself, my unapologetic queerness, with everybody I love x”