Pansexual star Wayne Brady shares teacher’s powerful anti-homophobia advice that he still lives by
Wayne Brady played Neil Patrick Harris’ brother in How I Met Your Mother. (Getty)
Whose Line Is It Anyway star Wayne Brady recently revealed how he found the courage to come out and deal with his own internalised homophobia.
Speaking to Advocate, Brady, who is pansexual, said: “Growing up, there was so much hyper masculinity, particularly in the Black community, and I always felt like I had to play that character. So when it came to sexuality, I always knew that I love women, but then I’d question why I was attracted to a male. I’d never heard of somebody being bisexual. I didn’t know what that was, and so I fought against it.”
In fact, Brady’s internalised homophobia turned outward when he was in high school. While working as a performer in Walt Disney World in Orlando with gay cast members, one of them commented on his looks.
“I freaked out,” he admitted.
Brady was (and still is) close to his high school drama teacher so she was the person he turned to.
“I began to tell her what happened, and I got the point where I was going to call him a f**, and she stopped me. She said something I’ll never forget. ‘How dare you say that as a young Black man. You’re gonna say this about somebody, and discriminate against them in this community? You don’t know what they’re going through. Don’t you ever, ever do that again.’ And I’ve lived by that advice till this day.”
Brady credits his teacher to his confidence in eventually coming out and overcoming his “demons” to come to terms with his sexuality.
“Rather than discriminate against someone because of who they love, or the color of their skin, if I can now help someone, even if it’s one person, going through a difficult time like I did, particularly with my sexuality, then this journey has been worth it,” he said.
Brady came out as pansexual last year in an interview with People.
“I am pansexual. Bisexual – with an open mind,” he said, after doing research into various sexualities and labels to see which one felt right to him.
“To me, pan means being able to be attracted to anyone who identifies as gay, straight, bi, trans, or non-binary. Being able to be attracted across the board. I took pan to mean that not only can I be attracted to any of these people or types physically, but I could be attracted to the person that is there,” Brady added.
The label is usually used to described being attracted to people of any and all genders, outside of the gender binary.
Brady, who is best known for his roles in Whose Line Is It Anyway and How I Met Your Mother, previously said he felt free after coming out as he no longer had to hide who he is.
