Actor and singer Wayne Brady recently disclosed he identifies as pansexual and got candid with People about his struggles with introspection.
Brady admitted that he didn’t have a firm grasp of the technicalities of sexualities, so he couldn’t stipulate what he identified as, ultimately deciding to research.
“In doing my research, both with myself and just with the world, I couldn’t say if I was bisexual because I had to really see what that was, especially because I really have not gotten a chance to act on anything,” Brady said.
Brady uncovered pansexual and felt the definition aligned with him.
“…to me, pan means being able to be attracted to anyone who identifies as gay, straight, bi, trans-sexual or non-binary,” the Let’s Make A Deal host explained. “Being able to be attracted across the board. And, I think, at least for me for right now, that is the proper place. I took pan to mean that not only can I be attracted to any of these people or types physically, but I could be attracted to the person that is there.”
The Sophia the First actor conceded he felt he could speak on Black issues since Brady couldn’t hide his race, but stayed out of the LGBTQ+ conversation, feeling he’d be lying.
“I’ve told myself in the past, also, nobody needs to know my personal business,” Brady said. “The world can absolutely go without knowing that Wayne identifies as pan. But that gave me license to still live in the shadows and to be secretive. What does that feel like to actually not be shameful, to not feel like, “Oh, I can’t be part of this conversation because I’m lying?” I had to break that behavior.”
When Brady discovered he was attracted to certain men, he quickly shut the feeling down because it wasn’t the way he was raised and because the world wasn’t accepting.
But now, the talented entertainer embraces his identity. He came out to his ex-wife Mandie Taketa, 47, and his daughter, Maile, 20. They both were accepting.
Following his coming out, Brady took to Instagram to share his happiness for being open and a part of the LGBTQ+ community.
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