APPLE CEO TIM OFFICIALLY COMES OUT: 'I AM PROUD TO BE GAY'

Apple CEO Tim Cook has officially come out as gay.

'I consider being gay among the greatest gifts God has given me,' he writes in a personal essay in Bloomberg Businessweek.

'I’ll admit that this wasn’t an easy choice. Privacy remains important to me, and I’d like to hold on to a small amount of it.'

The head of Apple, who took over from Steve Jobs in 2011, has never denied being gay and to an extent it has been considered to be public knowledge

But until today, Cook has also never confirmed his sexuality.

'I don’t consider myself an activist, but I realize how much I’ve benefitted from the sacrifice of others,' Cook adds.

'So if hearing that the CEO of Apple is gay can help someone struggling to come to terms with who he or she is, or bring comfort to anyone who feels alone, or inspire people to insist on their equality, then it’s worth the trade-off with my own privacy.'

While it may be the first time he has publcly confirmed his sexuality, he has repeatedly been shown to support LGBTI rights.

In July, Cook greeted 5,000 employees before they marched in San Francisco's Pride parade.

A month earlier, he supported the White House's decision to ban LGBTI discrimination at federal contractors, calling it a 'matter of basic human dignity'.

Cook concludes: '[Apple] will continue to fight for our values, and I believe that any CEO of this incredible company, regardless of race, gender, or sexual orientation, would do the same. And I will personally continue to advocate for equality for all people until my toes point up.

'When I arrive in my office each morning, I’m greeted by framed photos of Dr. King and Robert F. Kennedy. I don’t pretend that writing this puts me in their league.

'All it does is allow me to look at those pictures and know that I’m doing my part, however small, to help others. We pave the sunlit path toward justice together, brick by brick. This is my brick.'

SOURCE: GAY STAR NEWS

14 YEAR OLD COMES OUT TO HIS BIG SISTER, BIG SISTER IS RIDICULOUSLY COOL

Coming out brings out all kinds of worries. It could be utter fear the person you're telling is going to react badly, hate you, or even just think of you a little differently.

But when 14-year-old Joshua Felix decided to tell his big sister, she was very cool about it.

'I'm gay', Felix tells her, head in his hands and utterly upset.

'What's wrong with that?' his sister immediately responds, as if he told her he accidentally recorded over the Kardashians or something.

'That’s nothing you need to worry about. That’s fine.'

'I’m glad you felt you could come and tell me. I am, seriously. That was very brave of you as well for telling me, I’m proud of you,' she adds.

'If you’re gay, straight, circle, triangle, whatever... As long as you’re happy, that’s all I care about.

'If you ever want to talk, my door's closed, but you can knock on my door to talk.'

Watch the family moment below:

SOURCE: GAY STAR NEWS

FORMER MISS KENTUCKY COMES OUT: 'I AM QUEER'

Prompted by a recent gay marriage ruling in Kentucky, Djuan Trent, Miss Kentucky 2010, last week announced that she's gay.

“I am queer,” Trent wrote in a blog post titled Turning “They” into “We.”

Trent said that she was nervous about publicly sharing her story and found it difficult to find the right words.

“I could write about what it was like to come out to my mom for the third and final time at the age of 26 (the first time was when I was in the 4th grade and the second time was in college),” Trent wrote. “I could write about the years I spent praying to a God whom I wanted so badly to serve with all of my heart, but couldn't understand why this God made me 'wrong.' I could write about all the times that people have asked me if I have a boyfriend and I've purposely chosen to just say 'no' with no further explanation. I could write about all the reasons I have been told I shouldn't be gay (that's an interesting list). I could write about all the times I talked about how gross it was when a girl had a crush on me, even though I may have secretly liked her too. I could write about how scared I have felt that I would have to watch friends and family members walk out of my life if I ever decided to come out. I could write about how disappointed I have been in myself for being an open supporter by day, and living it up in the safety of the closet by night.”

“I could write books about all of those things,” Trent continued, “but what has really fueled my passion in writing today, has been” a ruling knocking down a portion of Kentucky's ban on gay marriage.

(Related: Kentucky AG refuses to defend gay marriage ban; Gov. to hire outside counsel.)

Trent, who finished in the top ten in the 2011 Miss America pageant, added: “Ideally, I would love to one day live in a society where coming out is no longer necessary because we don't make assumptions about one another's sexuality and homophobia is laid to rest.”

SOURCE: ON TOP MAG

ACTRESS ELLEN PAGE COMES OUT AS GAY

Academy Award-nominated actress Ellen Page announced Friday at an LGBT youth conference in Las Vegas that she is gay.

“I am tired of hiding,” she said. “I’m tired of lying by omission.

“I’m here today because I am gay,” Page, 26, told the audience to a raucous standing ovation. “And because maybe I can make a difference. To help others have an easier and more hopeful time. Regardless, for me, I feel a personal obligation and a social responsibility.”

Page cited “football hero Michael Sam” and Laverne Cox from “Orange is the New Black” as two inspirations for her decision to come out publicly.

“Happy Valentine’s Day,” an emotional Page concluded her eight-minute long speech. “I love you.”

Watch:

SOURCE: LGBTQ NATION

ALL AMERICAN DEFENSIVE LINEMAN, NFL PROSPECT MICHAEL SAM COMES OUT AS GAY

Missouri All-American Michael Sam says he is gay, and the defensive end could become the first openly gay player in the NFL.

In interviews Sunday with ESPN and The New York Times, Sam said his teammates and coaches at Missouri have known since August.

“I am an openly, proud gay man,” he said.

Sam, a 6-foot-2, 260-pound senior, completed a stellar season for Missouri, which finished 12-2 and won the Cotton Bowl. He was named a first-team all-American. He was the defensive player of the year in the Southeastern Conference, widely considered the top league in college football. Teammates voted him Missouri’s most valuable player.

His decision to go public about his sexual orientation comes less than two weeks before the NFL Draft Combine in Indianapolis, an event where draft prospects show off their skills and are tested by the 32 NFL teams.

Sam, the Associated Press’ SEC Defensive Player of the Year, is projected to be chosen in the early rounds of the draft in May, and could become the first openly NFL player. He said he decided to come out publicly now because he sensed that rumors were circulating.

“It’s a big deal. No one has done this before,” he said. “And it’s kind of a nervous process, but I know what I want to be … I want to be a football player in the NFL.”

SOURCE: LGBTQ NATION

FINNISH OLYMPIC SWIMMER ARI-PEKKA LIUKKONEN COMES OUT

Finnish Olympic swimmer Ari-Pekka Liukkonen has come out of the closet as a gay man, reports YLE.

The winner of the bronze medal in the 4x50m mixed freestyle relay at the 2012 European Championships, Liukkonen said he chose to publicly reveal his own sexuality in hopes of raising awareness of the antigay legislation passed in Russia – the host county of the 2014 Winter Games.

“I wanted to start a broader discussion in connection with Sochi, because it’s sad that the legislation in Russia restricts the human rights of young people and others,” Liukkonen told Yle, noting that he hoped the sports world would soon no longer “find homosexuality to be any kind of news.”

Liukkonen – who is the first gay Finnish athlete to come out of the closet while remaining active in his career – says accepting his sexuality was “a long, slow process for me, but now I’m there” and his family has not only “received the news positively,” but “they had already sensed that I am like this.”

Liukkonen also revealed that he is currently training for the Rio Olympic Games in 2016 and hopes LGBT acceptance in his country will soon become commonplace. “I hope that in Finland we can get to the stage where we don’t need to talk about this anymore as soon as possible,” Liukkonen told YLE. “Homosexuality is the same kind of characteristic as whether a person has blue or brown eyes, or whether they are left- or right-handed.”

“It’s a really great feeling that I can finally be myself,” he added.

SOURCE: GAY DOT NET

WATCH: RIDICULOUSLY CUTE DOG HELPS HIS OWNER COME OUT

Like many LGBT people, video blogger Ivan Cruz once feared coming out of the closet, but when he eventually built up the courage to embrace and reveal his sexuality, he received an outpouring of love and support from his family and friends — including his pet dachshund, Thor.

Now Cruz is sharing his coming out story, with some help from his furry little friend, in hopes of inspiring others to do the same.

“My Coming Out Story” is a heartwarming video that retells Cruz’s story through Thor’s eyes. “I never imagined the day I'd come out,” Cruz writes in the video’s description. “For a long time, I lived in the same fear that many others currently live in. With the help of my best-four-legged-friend, Thor, I decided to make this video and share my coming out story. A big thanks to all the brave people on here who have taken the time to share their own coming out stories and that have inspired me to do the same.”

Grab some tissues before you settle in to watch Ivan and Thor’s adorable tale in the video below. This one is bound to tug at your heartstrings.

SOURCE: GAY DOT COM

FIRST ACTIVE COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYER COMES OUT

College football kicker Conner Mertens came out as bisexual to his teammates at Willamette University in Oregon last night, Cyd Zeigler reports at Outsports, becoming the first active college football player in the U.S. to come out publicly.

He did it for personal reasons, writes Zeigler, but also in the hope of inspiring fellow LGBT athletes to follow in his footsteps:

"For me growing up, I always felt the biggest thing that caused my depression was the feeling of being alone," Mertens said. "I hate the stereotypes that go along with liking the same sex. You don't have to follow the stereotype to be this way. I made the decision that if I could help anyone else avoid feeling the way I felt, I would."

The people he most wanted to reach are the residents of his hometown of Kennewick, Wash. The Tri-Cities is a conservative area in Southeast Washington that Mertens said isn't the most LGBT-friendly place in the world... Despite being a successful football player, he feared losing his friends and teammates if he talked about his homosexual tendencies.

"I had a smile on my face all the time as a kid, but I was dying on the inside. In my hometown, you have to fit in or you'll be exiled. If somebody had come out that I looked up to in the town, I would have been a lot happier.

Mertens doesn't want any other youth in his hometown to ever feel the way he did, so he took matters into his own hands."

Conner came out to the coaching staff and leaders on the team, then to the rest of the team at a meeting last night. He says the response from his teammates has been overwhelmingly positive. "It's been incredible," he said. "I'm speechless."

Congratulations on taking this important step, Conner, and welcome to the out and proud LGBT family!

Read the rest of Zeigler's extensive report here.

SOURCE: THE BILERICO PROJECT

WENTWORTH MILLER: I TRIED TO KILL MYSELF @ 15 OVER BEING GAY

US actor Wentworth Miller has revealed how he tried to kill himself over his sexuality when he was 15.

Most famous for his role in television series ‘Prison Break’, Miller attended a Human Rights Campaign dinner in Seattle, USA on 8 September when he was invited to speak to the audience.

The guests sat in silence as he recounted his experiences coming to terms with his sexuality as a young teenager.

He said: ‘Growing up I was a target. Speaking the right way, standing the right way, holding your wrist the right way.

'Every day was a test and there was a thousand ways to fail. A thousand ways to portray yourself to not live up to someone else’s standards of what was accepted.’

He then added: ‘The first time I tried to kill myself I was 15. I waited until my family went away for the weekend and I was alone in the house and I swallowed a bottle of pills.

'I don’t remember what happened over the next couple of days, but I’m pretty sure come Monday morning I was on the bus back to school pretending everything was fine.’

Miller also spoke about remaining in the closet when he was at the height of his fame.

He feared coming out might have a negative impact on his career.

'When I thought about the possibility of coming out might impact me and the career that I had worked so hard for I was filled with fear,' he said.

Miller recently came out as gay via an open letter. He refused to attend a film festival in St. Petersburg due to Russia’s anti-gay laws.

SOURCE: GAY STAR NEWS