Laugh out loud at Stan and Ollie's finest and funniest screen appearances
While actress and singer Reneé Rapp previously identified as bisexual, her appearance on ‘Saturday Night Live’ earlier this year was met with appreciation and respect from fans after she came out as a lesbian on the show. The actress–most recently known for her role in ‘Mean Girls’ (2024)–said that coming out has “been the most rewarding, validating, scary and exciting experience ever.”
Hunter Schafer, known for ‘Euphoria’ and the recent ‘Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes’ (2023), revealed a past romance that unfolded with singer Rosalía. Although the relationship only last a few months in 2019, Schafer has confirmed that the singer is “family no matter what.”
Actress Lily Gladstone captivated the world with her performance in ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’ (2023), which earned her a nomination for Best Actress at the Academy Awards, making her the first Native American woman to be nominated. Gladstone opened up about her sexuality and pronoun preferences via an interview with People magazine, where she reinforced the fact that she is nonbinary. “In most Native languages, most Indigenous languages, Blackfeet included, there are no gendered pronouns. There is no he/she, there's only they.” The actress, who uses she/they pronouns, continued, “My pronoun use is partly a way of decolonizing gender for myself.”
Actress Jessica Gunning very recently achieved a rapid rise in fame following the release of ‘Baby Reindeer’ on Netflix, in which Gunning plays one of the show’s primary characters. But with this fame, Gunning has also found herself able to share her authentic self with the world, describing herself as “a big, old gay.” The actress added, “I am surrounded by gays, like all my friends are gay, so it wasn’t that I was repressing anything, it was just that I didn’t think that I could be.”
After having taken on some pretty high-profile gay roles in ‘The White Lotus’ and ‘Feud,’ actor Tom Hollander has been known to play queer characters believably. But speaking more personally, the actor made it clear that he has had many different experiences regarding his own sexuality, referring to them as “sufficiently liberal” and “not anyone’s business.”
Amanda Tori Meating appeared on the 16th season of ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ and was fresh out of a divorce when the show was filmed. But the drag performer has made different kinds of exciting waves by coming out as transgender, which she has mentioned was a reason why her marriage ended. “I wasn't at all supported by my partner, and it ended up being a big part of why I had to leave because he didn't want to be with a trans person.” The performer has since advocated for mental health awareness and has asserted that no one deserves to be victimized for who they are.
Another star who walked off the red carpet of ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ is Farrah Moan, who competed in the show’s ninth season. Farrah has experienced many hardships as a result of her gender identity, but she has now fully embraced life as a trans woman. Farrah has detailed how dressing like a boy stressed her out and she resented every masculine feature that she had, which pushed her to embrace this beautiful part of herself.
Salvador Sobral, best known as the Portuguese winner of Eurovision in 2017, recently revealed that he is intersexual since his body is unable to naturally produce the hormone that would typically assert gender. “My body doesn’t produce testosterone,” the singer admitted, and while he has struggled with health complications in the past, he has come to terms with this part of his life.
The process of coming out can be quite lengthy, and usually involves a lot of self-discovery and an inability to grasp the correct label for a long time. American singer-songwriter and record producer Lauv has shown how tumultuous this process can be, since he has been vocal about his continuous struggle to identify his own sexuality. But it seems he ultimately settled on simply saying outright, “I feel like I’m gay, okay?”
Grace Wilson is the first pro Australian soccer player to come out as non-binary, which is certainly a feat in itself. The 18-year-old athlete announced their identity via an interview, wherein Wilson explained the trepidation they felt for much of their childhood whenever the thought of their gender identity came to mind. “I think looking back, I kind of knew since I was a kid.”
Aliyah Bah, known professionally as Aliyah's Interlude, is another influencer to have created ripples in the LGBTQ+ world after she recently came out as pansexual. The music and fashion influencer has made it clear that the gay community is made up of some of her most ardent and beloved fans and, although she used to identify as bisexual, she feels that pansexuality is the right label for her.
Zoe Lister-Jones, who appeared in ‘Life in Pieces’ from 2015 to 2019, came out to the world after arriving at the Independent Spirit Awards with queer and nonbinary director Sammi Cohen as a date. In a quote from The Hollywood Reporter, Lister-Jones said, “I’m here, I’m queer, I have some fear but I’m working through it.”
Every year, the month of Pride has a way of drawing people out of the closet in a leap that celebrates their humanity. ‘Bridgerton’ actress Jessica Madsen is one of those celebrities, who took to Instagram at the beginning of the month to openly declare her queer identity. “I’m in love with a woman,” she wrote. “Loud about it and proud about it!”
American figure skater Colin Grafton came out as gay in a recent interview. The skater recalled encountering a toxic anti-gay sports environment during his youth, but the World Junior Championships bronze medalist has certainly found positivity since. “It wasn't easy but all of it made me stronger because I took it and focused everything on my sport."
Actress Bethany Antonia came out rather powerfully via a response to a racist message that she had received on Instagram. The actress, who is known for playing Princess Baela Targaryen in ‘House of the Dragon,’ was sent a racist slur regarding her inclusion in the show’s newest season, but the actress simply responded, “Wait till they find out I'm gay too.”
In March, singer-songwriter Matt Terry released a song titled ‘His Car,’ which he has since revealed was an apology to the first man he fell in love with after Terry asked to keep their romance a secret. Terry, who won the 13th season of ‘The X Factor’ in 2016 and experienced intense media speculation about his sexuality, declared that, “I’ve been hiding who I was, and I haven’t really opened up. I’ve never let anybody in.” That is, until now.
Sources: (Pride) (PinkNews) (Edge Media Network) (Autostraddle) (The Advocate) (The Hollywood Reporter) (People) (Glamour) (E! Online)
See also: A colorful history of LGBTQ+ Pride Month
‘One Tree Hill’ star Sophia Bush not only revealed her inclusion in the LGBTQ+ community during an interview with Glamour magazine, but she also confirmed her relationship with retired soccer star Ashlyn Harris. She wrote: “I’ve experienced so much safety, respect, and love in the queer community, as an ally all of my life, that, as I came into myself, I already felt it was my home.”
Singer-songwriter Maren Morris is recently divorced from her husband of five years, Ryan Hurd, with whom she shares a four-year-old son. On June 9, she came out in an Instagram at the age of 34 in a post that read: "happy to be the B in LGBTQ+," along with a series of photos from one of her recent shows that show her holding a pride flag on stage. Morris received an outpouring of love and support from her fans and fellow musicians.
French Paralympics star Dimitri Pavade came out as gay just a few days after finishing fourth in the men’s long jump at the Paris Games.
'RuPaul's Drag Race' season 15 star Amethyst came out as transgender in July through an emotional letter shared on social media. She also launched a GoFundMe to support her transition costs.
'RuPaul’s Drag Race' legend Detox came out as trans at a live show in Chicago on August 21. Her Instagram states that her pronouns are she/they.
American hurdles star Trey Cunningham came out as gay in an emotional interview with The New York Times.
'Love Is Blind' season five contestant Stacy Snyder came out as queer in an Instagram video that showed her being kissed by another woman.
'Broad City' and 'Babes' (2024) star Ilana Glazer came out as non-binary in August. They said that it was the experience of pregnancy that helped them come to terms with their identity as a non-binary woman. She uses the pronouns they/she.
‘Heartbreak High’ star Ayesha Madon came out as bisexual in July in a Gay Times cover story.
'What Not to Wear' host Stacy London debuted her relationship with her partner Cat Yezbak in 2019, but only identified herself as a lesbian in 2024 stating, “I feel like I want to say lesbian because there aren’t enough of us. It’s not just about one type of lesbian culture. I want people to see the spectrum, and so I identify as such.”
The host of 'The Amber Ruffin Show' came out publicly at the end of Pride month, joking that it would shock "exactly zero people."
YouTuber Niki Demartino came out as pansexual at the end of June and revealed to her followers that she is dating a woman.
Actress Louisa Jacobson, star of the HBO series 'The Gilded Age' and the daughter of Meryl Streep, came out as lesbian in June. She opened up in an Instagram post that included photos of her with girlfriend Anna Blundell.
Fashion icon, actress, artist, and author Julia Fox surprised fans in early July by announcing that she now identifies as lesbian. She shared the news in response to a viral TikTok in which user @emgwaciedawgie says, "I love when I see a lesbian with their boyfriend. It's like 'Aww, you hate that man. You literally hate him.'" Fox shared the video and followed it with a video of herself saying, "Hey, that was me. I was that lesbian. So sorry, boys. Won't happen again."
On July 14, the former Formula One driver (and brother of Michael Schumacher) announced that he is now in a same-sex relationship. He shared the news in an Instagram post accompanied by a photo of him with his arm around a man, captioned “The most beautiful thing in life is when you have the right partner by your side with whom you can share everything.”
The 'Saturday Night Live' alum came out as lesbian shortly before the premiere of her 2024 series 'Agatha All Along.' She told Them, "I’m out in my life and I do keep my personal life kind of private, but I also don’t necessarily want my identity to be private.”
Pop sensation Chappell Roan, who previously identified as queer, came out as a lesbian during a concert in Ohio over the summer.
After years of living quite openly as a queer woman, Chloë Grace Moretz officially came out prior to the 2024 presidential election. "I believe in the need for legal protections that protects the LGBTQ+ community as a gay woman," she said in a statement on Instagram. She has been dating model Kate Harrison since 2018.
Singer Khalid officially came out in November after he was outed by another singer. "I got outted and the world still continues to turn. Let’s get this straight (lmao) I am not ashamed of my sexuality! In reality it ain’t nobodies business! But I am okay with me," he wrote on X.
Actress Kelly Marie Tran, known for her role in 'Star Wars: The Last Jedi' (2017), came out as queer in an interview about her upcoming film,
'The Wedding Banquet,' in which she plays a lesbian.
'The Upshaws' star Jermelle Simon came out as gay on October 11, National Coming Out Day.
As the world becomes more progressive and more countries adopt same-sex marriage in their constitutions, it is becoming more and more accepted to be part of the LGBTQ+ community. After all, identity and sexuality are truly fluid, and should not be subjected to judgment or mistreatment. But when celebrities make their LGBTQ+ identities known, it rings out as a support for fans around the world, which truly has a way of moving things positively. And 2024 is certainly delivering on that front!
Click through this gallery to see which other celebrities have broken down the closet door so far in 2024.
Celebs who came out publicly in 2024
From Paralympians to comedians
CELEBRITY Coming out
As the world becomes more progressive and more countries adopt same-sex marriage in their constitutions, it is becoming more and more accepted to be part of the LGBTQ+ community. After all, identity and sexuality are truly fluid, and should not be subjected to judgment or mistreatment. But when celebrities make their LGBTQ+ identities known, it rings out as a support for fans around the world, which truly has a way of moving things positively. And 2024 is certainly delivering on that front!
Click through this gallery to see which other celebrities have broken down the closet door so far in 2024.