Pride Month 2021 was one for the queer history books!
Just like last year, Pride Month 2021 was an extremely busy time for celebrity coming-out stories, and we're definitely not complaining! The more notable public figures there are in the world who are openly, visibly, and proudly living in their truths, the easier it is for others to be able to do the same, and that's something we absolutely need more of!
To end Pride Month 2021 with a bang, here are a bunch of notable LGBTQ+ celebs who celebrated this year's Pride in the absolute best way possible!
Zackery Torres
The Dance Moms alumni association keeps getting queerer kicked off June by announcing on TikTok that they are transitioning and now use both they/them and she/her pronouns.
"Hi everyone, it's me Zackery Torres and you may know me from Dance Moms," she said in the video. "Life update: I'm transitioning! That means I'm transgender if you didn't know. My pronouns are they/she which means that they or she are totally fine, and I'm just hopping on here to tell you that I'm going to be posting more on TikTok and I'm excited about it and I don't know why I'm doing all these awkward moves because I'm rusty!"
Kaylee Bryant
The 23-year-old actress and Legacies star came out as queer, posting on her Instagram saying, "Hi, my name is Kaylee and I'm queer! Happy Pride Month!" alongside a picture of her. In the pic, she's wearing a t-shirt that says, "Be the bold queer you needed to see in your youth," holding a rainbow flag, and sticking out her tongue.
Olivia Ponton
In an interview with Teen Vogue, the 19-year-old model and social media superstar (who currently has over 6 million TikTok followers and 3 million Instagram followers) confirmed that she is bisexual after causing a stir earlier this year with a cheeky TikTok video.
"I want to announce that I'm bisexual, and I'm now proud to be a part of the LGBTQ+ community," Ponton told Teen Vogue.
She also opened up about how she wasn't exposed to many queer people growing up in Naples, Florida, and it wasn't until she moved to Los Angeles that she realized being bisexuality was even a possibility for her. Ponton then revealed that she now has a girlfriend named Kaila and that the two met on TikTok before they officially started seeing each other back in January of this year.
"I met my girlfriend on TikTok and became thoroughly obsessed with her," she said. "She actually curved me for a week before first answering!"
Alexandra Shipp
In an emotional Instagram post, the 29-year-old actress (who is probably best known for her role in the groundbreaking gay, teen romantic comedy Love, Simon and for playing the young version of iconic mutant superhero Storm in the X-Men film franchise) came out as part of the LGBTQ+ community and revealed that she used to be scared of what people would think about her if she ever revealed that part of herself.
"I didn't come out until I was 28," she wrote. "Though I don't believe in regrets, this would definitely be #1 for myself. I denied denied denied. I struggled with not only my sexuality, but my femininity. I was scared it was too late. I was scared I wasn't going to be able to get work. I was scared no one would ever love me. Scared. Scared. Scared. It's exhausting being scared all the time. It's exhausting chasing other people's ideas and opinions of who you should be."
Larry Saperstein
The actor (who is probably best known for playing Big Red on Disney+'s hit, queer-inclusive musical series High School Musical: The Musical: The Series) casually came out as bisexual after addressing his sexuality in a TikTok video.
"Is it really that unexpected tho?" Saperstein captioned the post, which is basically just a selfie video where the words "Plays a character with a girlfriend on TV, is bi irl" show up on screen as the Backyardigans' viral hit "International Super Spy" plays in the background.
Michaela Kennedy Cuomo
The youngest daughter of New York governor Andrew Cuomo and his former wife Kerry Kennedy came out as queer in a June Instagram post.
"#HappyPrideMonth to the whole spectrum of sexualities!" she wrote in her post.
"I stand in my queer identity with pride, and in memory of those who came before me," she continued. "I stand indebted to the activists who fought for my right to love and happiness. I stand with a helping hand outreached to those finding their way from under socially constructed boxes to emerge from the closet. I'm standing with you."
DreamDoll
The rapper and Love & Hip Hop star came out as bisexual in a June post on her Instagram account.
"Happy Pride Month," she captioned her Pride-themed photo announcement to her over 4.2 million followers. "I'm proud to announce that I'm bisexual."
Lio Tipton
Model-turned-actor Lio Tipton opened up about their sexuality and gender identity and came out as queer and nonbinary in a moving Instagram picture.
Tipton (who finished third in Cycle 11 of Tyra Bank's long-running reality competition America's Next Top Model and who co-starred alongside Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling in the 2011 romantic comedy Crazy, Stupid, Love) shared that their pronouns are now they/them, and that they proudly identify as a queer, nonbinary member of the LGBTQ+ community.
Kaitlyn Weaver
The Canadian skater and two-time Olympian came out as as queer in a heartfelt and emotional Instagram post.
"Over the last year, with a lot of time to think, feel, and connect with myself, I've come to a place of acceptance," she wrote. "I identify as queer woman and this is something I've known for a long time but was not ready to face. For years I really hated a big part of myself, and that took a huge toll on my mental health -- especially when the world stopped and the only thing I could do was look in the mirror. There's nothing worse than hitting rock bottom and not wanting to climb out."
Weaver, who earned world championship medals with her skating partner Andrew Poje in 2014 (silver), 2015 (bronze,) and 2018 (bronze), continued:
"I'm shaking writing this message, but knowing that I'm moving in a loving, authentic, and compassionate way feels right. You all know me- I follow my heart, and that always leads me to the right place. I'm ready to move forward living, loving, and being honest with all of my identity. And it has been so empowering to arrive at a place where I can do that. I'm so grateful to have Andrew's support throughout it all - and it brings tears to my eyes to know that in him I've always got the best partner, and friend, for life."
Jason Brown
The champion figure skater came out as gay in an inspiring message posted to Instagram this June.
The former U.S. National Champion, Olympic medalist, and current Olympic-hopeful said he was lucky to have been surrounded by strong role models within the LGBTQ+ community, thanked those before him who gave him the courage and inspiration to be open with himself and others, and said he was optimistic about the future.
"I'm gay, and that's a story still being written..." Brown posted.
David Archuleta
The singer-songwriter, known most for his 2008's track "Crush" and who first rose to prominence when he competed and placed second during the seventh season of reality singing competition American Idol, came out as a member of the LGBTQ+ community in a heartfelt and emotional post on Instagram.
"I like to keep to myself but also thought this was important to share because I know so many other people from religious upbringings feel the same way," he wrote, saying that he probably most closely identifies on the bisexual spectrum. "I've been open to myself and my close family for some years now that I am not sure about my own sexuality."
Laganja Estranja
The RuPaul's Drag Race season 6 alum, came out as transgender in a June interview with Entertainment Weekly.
"There are so many other women around me who've inspired me to come forward today, and it's because of their fight and their struggle that I'm able to really do this and say that I'm nervous, but I'm not scared," she said. "I'm not going to live my life in fear anymore."
Casey Frey
The internet/meme sensation revealed that he has a boyfriend in a June interview with Theo Von on his This Past Weekend podcast.
"I am in a relationship with a dude right now," he said. "I met him online."
When asked to describe his type, he then said, "I'm into the teddy boys, you know. I like girls too though."
Carl Nassib
The football player and Raiders lineman made history this June after coming out as gay in an Instagram post, making him the first active gay player in National Football League history to come out while signed to a team.
"What's up people," Nassib said in his Instagram video. "I'm at my house in West Chester, Pennsylvania. I just wanted to take a quick moment to say that I'm gay. I've been meaning to do this for a while now but finally feel comfortable getting it off my chest. I really have the best life, the best family, friends and job a guy can ask for."
Toni Storm
The professional WWE NXT came out as bisexual after she took over WWE NXT's Instagram stories in honor of Pride Month!
"I'm bi and it feels good to say it," Storm said. "It's something I've been really comfortable with for a long time. I just never expressed it."
She continued:
"I just never really found the right time and it's Pride Month and I'm on your Instagram so now's a good time I guess."
Hikaru Utada
One of the most successful pop singers in Japan in the late '90s and '00s who became internationally famous for singing the theme songs to Kingdom Hearts video games like the iconic "Simple and Clean," came out as nonbinary during a June livestream.
"It's the month of June, and I'm non-binary, so happy Pride Month!" they said.
Joshua Bassett
While he still hasn't specified an identity within the LGBTQ+ spectrum, Bassett confirmed to GQ in a June profile story that he is a member of the community and that people shouldn't have to rush themselves when it comes to labels.
"There are plenty of letters in the alphabet...why bother rushing to a conclusion?" Bassett said, describing himself as someone who is "anti-coming out," meaning he feels people shouldn't need to. "Sometimes your letter changes, sometimes you try a different one, other times you realize you're not what you thought you were, or maybe you always knew. All of these can be true. I'm happy to be a part of the LGBTQ+ community because they embrace all. Don't let anyone tell you love isn't love. They're the ones who probably need it the most."
When asked about the seriousness of the now infamous Clevver video where he sang praises for Harry Styles and "came out" saying Styles was hot, Bassett said that he wasn't joking at all.
"I stood behind every word that I said," he added. "Even if there are consequences, I would much rather deal with consequences and live my truth than live in fear."
Hugh Sheridan
While celebrating making the cover of DNA Magazine, Australian actor Hugh Sheridan came out as nonbinary.
"I AM still a human (non-binary/bi/me/Hughman)," they wrote on Instagram. "But I'm in a monogamous relationship with another human, who I love. I don't accept a label 'cause it limits me...if you want it; take it. I chose zero labels for no other reason except the exclusion, limitations, separation, I believe are all one, deeeeep down."
Jack Dunne
The 22-year-old professional rugby player, who is an Irish rugby union player currently playing as a member of the Leinster team, came out as bisexual and talked openly about his sexuality on the BBC's LGBT Sports Podcast.
"When you're bisexual it's almost a blessing and a curse because you can hide it way easier - you can still go out with the lads on Saturday night and do all that stuff, but then at the same time it's easier to hide it and it's easier to not be true to yourself," Dunne said, revealing that he first started realizing he was bi as early as age 15. "So eventually, I think it was in sixth year, I told one or two people and they took it really well, so I was like, you know what, I'll just tell everyone and if someone has a problem with it, that's on them."
Linsey Godfrey
The soap opera actress and Days of Our Lives star shared that she is proud to be bisexual in a short and sweet Instagram post.
"LGBTQ Proud," she wrote, hashtagging #BiPride.
"In fairness I've been saying I'm somewhere over the rainbow for years," she later tweeted about her coming out. "No one has ever picked up on it haha! So I decided to be more direct haha!"
