GREG IN HOLLYWOOD

celebs! hugging! greg!

LATEST

GREG YOUR WAY

Take the feed! Subscribe

Get GIH news via Twitter

Follow Greg: Twitter Facebook

Greg on Flickr:

Video: See New Jersey high school student come out in front of 300-plus students at awards assembly

This is one of the most wonderful things I’ve seen in a long time.

I think any one of us who were closeted in high school really just want to give a big hug to New Jersey high school student Jacob Rudolph for being so brave and coming out in a way that maybe Jodie Foster wishes she had a few weeks ago at the Golden Globes.

Jacob was at his high school awards ceremony where he was presented with the ‘Class Actor’ award for his accomplishments on the stage.

‘Sure, I’ve been in a few plays and musicals, but more importantly, I’ve been acting every single day of my life,’ he told his classmates. ‘You see, I’ve been acting as someone I’m not … you see me acting the part of straight Jacob, when I am in fact LGBT.’

This got the noisy crowd’s attention. He then explained that LGBT stands for ‘Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender.’

‘Unlike millions of other LGBT teens who have had to act every day to avoid verbal harassment and physical violence, I’m not going to do it anymore,’ he explained.

He concluded the speech by saying: ‘So take me, leave me or move me out of the way, because I am what I am, and that’s how I’m going to act from now on.’

Rudolph’s classmates gave the teen an enthusiastic standing ovation as he left the stage. Later, his proud father posted video of his son’s speech on YouTube with a written introduction which stated that his son’s decision to come out to the school took ‘more guts than anything I’ve ever attempted in my life.’

Watch for yourself:

FILE UNDER: Videos

Comments

(All comments are reviewed before being published, and I review submissions several times per day.)

One Remark

  1. Good for you, Jacob! So brave and admirable.

Leave a Reply