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YouTube star Connor Franta comes out as gay in heartfelt video: ‘All I wanted to do was be like everybody else’

Connor Franta is not someone I was at all familiar with until today.

He has 3.6 million followers on YouTube and today he has some big news for those fans: he is gay.

The 22 year old posted his most personal video to date as he shared the news and the lifelong journey of finally getting to the point of accepting himself.

‘I put a vast majority of my life on the Internet and I want this to be one of those things too,’ he said in a six minute and 27 second video (see below). ‘This has easily been the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do – but I’m so glad I’m doing it.’

Franta told viewers that it was a year ago that he began to come out to family and friends after spending his life up until that time not being able to admit the truth even to himself.

‘All I wanted to do was be like everybody else,’ he says in the video.

He dated girls while in high school but when he would kiss them, ‘I would feel nothing.’

It was during his sophomore year in college that Franta began watching coming out videos on YouTube, going on chat rooms and doing Google searches about being gay.

The online support he found has encouraged him to make a ‘video for anybody who needs it.’

After coming out to the people in his life, a huge burden was lifted.

‘Everyone was so great … they didn’t look at me different, they didn’t treat me different. They just said, “Okay.” Like it was no big deal. I just wanted to to be able to not be afraid – I’m sick of censoring myself.’

Along with the video on his YouTube page, Franta posted a message to hos fans which read: ‘Your support means the absolute world to me & I hope this doesn’t change a thing. I love you guys & can’t thank you enough for everything xx.’

As of lunchtime Pacific time, Connor had received nearly 22,000 messages of support.

Here is a sampling:

Kelly Travis: Connor, we’re all so proud of you! We love you so much and this definitely does not change anything! ❤️

Reanna15146: Great job! That was probably REALLY hard, though I can only guess, and you should be completely proud of yourself for doing this. I wouldn’t have you any other way,

Simona Omina: Oh. My. God! I am so shocked! Woah. But it’s okay! Welcome to your free life! I understand you. I am really proud of you for telling us, Connor! We appreciate it!

FILE UNDER: Coming Out

Comments

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

4 Remarks

  1. Such a brave young man Connor.

  2. I saw a video with this guy as an incidental (that is, he was inviting or was invited, sharing the video with some other youtuber) and my gaydar buzzed (but not in a “he is so campy” way), though logically it was just a hunch (the general “bisexual maybe” softened vibe). Good that he did come out so it sounds troubling that is such an issue for him though logically it can not be the same for everybody, so many influencing factors. The more the merrier they say, imagine that a couple of decades ago many of these young guys saw no apparent option but to live a double life or in fear of being exposed.

  3. Yawn…..

  4. Yawn? If you’re not going to applaud this kid’s bravery why bother to comment? Look in the mirror “sas.”

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