Despite all of the progress that has been made, the vitriol still sent the way of the LGBTQIA+ community keeps countless people from living their truths. One such person was former star of reality series The Bachelor, Colton Underwood.
This week however, Underwood sat down for an emotional interview with Good Morning America host Robin Roberts, in which the former professional footballer came out as gay.
Having come to terms with his sexuality "earlier this year", Underwood said he had been "processing" his truth before admitting he was now "the happiest and healthiest" he has ever been.
Whilst we live in a world that can still be dangerous for those who choose to live freely, the whole process of 'coming out' can be terrifying and extremely uncomfortable.
Following the one-on-one, a clip from Underwood’s season of The Bachelor resurfaced in which comedian Billy Eichner guest-starred on the show.
Chatting about his own sexuality with Underwood, Eichner joked that being gay was “something you should look into”, before musing, “maybe you’re the first gay bachelor?”
At the time, it was simply an attempt at comedy and gaining laughs. Looking back however, the discomfort Underwood felt in that moment is clear.
News quickly followed from Variety, that Underwood was working on an unscripted reality series with Netflix which would explore his life as an openly-gay man.
Gus Kenworthy has also been named as lead on the series, in which he’s said to appear as Underwood’s “gay guide”, essentially helping him make the transition into the world as an out and proud homosexual.
An interesting premise, but not a show that everybody on Twitter is excited about seeing…
We also must remember that Underwood allegedly stalked and harassed his ex-girlfriend Cassie Randolph, who claimed in September 2020 that the Bachelor star had planted a tracking device on her car. She filed for a restraining order against Underwood.
Underwood has since claimed that Randolph dropped her restraining order against him. Randolph hasn’t made any further comment since Underwood’s GMA appearance.
Meanwhile, comedian Robert Webb is facing further backlash from the trans community and its allies following a cringeworthy podcast interview with Jesse Thorn.
The host brought up critical comments that Webb had made back in 2018 on Twitter about the charity Mermaids, which aims to support trans youth, that he later deleted. He also mentioned that he had two non-gender-conforming children of his own, noting that one was trans.
What followed was an intense yet extremely important and shockingly delicate questioning of Webb’s thought process at the time, leading to the comedian admitting he wasn’t qualified enough to speak on the subject.
Mermaids would thank Thorn for his work, taking “reassurance” from Webb’s comments in the podcast that he “supports affirmative care”.
Other social media users would thank him for his approach of the sensitive topic, noting that he had handled the situation perfectly.
MORE FROM SOCIAL BUZZ: Alex Scott makes history by becoming the first host of BBC Football Focus
If you can wade through the usual sexism and bigotry that is attached to announcements of this sort, you’ll find a celebration on social media of Alex Scott becoming the first female host of BBC series, Football Focus.
Making history in doing so, the majority of people took to Twitter to celebrate the move, rather than berating those behind-the-scenes who had made the decision…
