Connor Franta, a YouTube star with more than 3.6 million followers, came out as gay in a video posted for his fans.
Franta posted the emotional video on Monday, telling viewers he had no script and no plan for what he was doing. He said while he had shared many of his personal experiences in 2014 via his popular YouTube channel, one thing was missing. “You don’t know the biggest thing,” he said.
“I’m just going to be really honest,” he said. “2014 is truly the year that I have accepted who I am and become happy.”
“I’m gay,” Franta said.
Franta said when he came out to friends and family earlier this year they were supportive. “Everyone was so great,” he said. “They didn’t look at me different. They didn’t treat me different.”
Franta said he struggled with his identity for much of his life. He said he knew he was different when he was younger, and when he was 12 he confronted the reality that he was gay. He said being from a small town, he was afraid to come out.
“It was terrifying to me to have to think that I was something I knew nothing about,” he said. “So I immediately pushed it away and tried not to think about it.”
He’s certainly come a long way in his journey, especially considering this video he posted back in 2011. He must have struggled with reconciling his own identity with being a celebrity in the world of YouTube, where commenters and other users hurl insults like “fag” nonstop to anyone they perceive as different or weak.
“I am so happy with who I am,” he said in the video posted on Monday.
