Watch: Joey Graceffa discusses his decision to come out
By Will Stroude
YouTube star Joey Graceffa has opened up about his decision to come out earlier this year after years of speculation, saying he wanted others in a similar situation to “not feel so alone”.
The 24-year-old – who has over four million subscribers on the video-sharing site – came out back in May in the music video for his new single Don’t Wait which saw him lock lips with a rather hunky prince at the video’s end.
Speaking to GLAAD about his decision to finally address the topic of his sexuality, Graceffa said: “It’s been the number one question on my channel: is he gay? Non-stop. And there’s such an army of sides going at each other. So it was finally putting that to rest, and it got a great response. I’m very happy with how people reacted to it.”
On why he later posted another video clarifying his sexuality, he explained: “I was afraid because I was doing something a little bit different from the norm on YouTube, by coming out in a music video. I didn’t want people to think ‘Ah, he still not answering the question, he’s still shying around it.”
He went on: “I remember growing up and feeling like my story was so different from everyone else’s because there wasn’t really anyone openly talking about what was going on in their life. Like, celebrities or people. I mean, there wasn’t really a YouTube at the time to hear people talk about their stories, so, yeah, I guess I just want people to not feel so alone.”
Watch the video below:
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