Wayne Brady, the famous American comedian, actor, and television host rose to fame with his appearances on Whose Line Is It Anyway? Known for his comedic gimmicks, the host made headlines last year when he came out as pansexual.
While he is not the first person to identify as pansexual, the sexuality is comparatively lesser known and not many know how it is different from other sexual orientations. In a recent interview, the actor-comedian himself revealed the struggles he went through to understand the concept and explained what it actually is.
Wayne Brady Explains His Struggle to Understand His Sexuality
Wayne Brady, 51, has already been married twice and is a father. But it took him these many years and experiences to understand that he was pansexual. A lesser-known sexuality, many often confuse it with being bi-sexual. And that is what Whose Line Is It Anyway? star Brady was confused about when he first started discovering himself.
In a new interview with People, the actor and television personality remarked,
“I had to do research and find out what it was that I was. I think the biggest misconception — and I even make a joke about it onstage tonight — is that people think that you’re an indecisive bisexual. It’s like, no, no, no, no, no. Let me set you straight.”
Adding on, he explained what the term actually means,
“What the definition basically boils down to is, regardless of gender, regardless. So that means that I am happily free to fall in love with anybody here. If you’re gay, if you’re straight, if you’re non-binary, trans, I don’t care.”
Explaining that it is all about the person instead of caring about what gender they have, Brady states how while he was undergoing therapy for love addiction he really realized his true sexual orientation.
Wayne Brady Felt Ashamed Not Coming Out as Pansexual
In a world where even straight people and the two traditional genders would face discrimination and prejudice, coming out as pansexual would have been certainly challenging for Wayne Brady. While talking to People last year after revealing his sexuality, Brady stated how despite having a wonderful and supportive community, he felt ashamed for he felt he was not being a true ally by hiding his own sexuality.
“I’ve always felt like a sham because I wasn’t being forthcoming with myself. You can play at being an ally, but until the day that you can truly say, ‘This is who I am, and I wanna stand next to you,’ that’s not … I always wanted that day to come.”
“I’ve told myself in the past, also, nobody needs to know my personal business. 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.”
