My chat with “Faking It” star Michael J. Willett

Of course it’s up to every gay person whether or not to come out publicly.

It’s a tough decision and I have a lot of empathy for the things we gay people have to consider in terms of family, career, friends and just getting over the shame so many of us have because we grew up hating that part of ourselves.

But I have to confess with getting annoyed, and a bit impatient, with gay stars who refuse to come out but still want to be part of high-profile LGBT events.

Bugs me.

This brings me to the opposite of such a person: Michael J. Willett.

The 25-year-old openly actor made such a splash in the terrific feature film GBF and is now one of the stars of the hit MTV series Faking It.

I chatted with Michael at a recent Paley Center event on the history of LGBT visibility on television and he told me he had been pressured to stay in the closet by advisers earlier in his career.

He flatly refused and his career is thriving.

Bravo to young performers like Michael and Chris Colfer who are not creating any kind of secretive or fake life at the start of their careers.

To read my interview with Michael, head on over to Gay Star News.