Though not quite as busy as last year, Pride Month 2022 saw a handful of notable celebrities publicly come out, open up about their sexualities, and live in their truths -- and we sure love to see it!
The more notable public figures there are in the world who are openly, visibly, and proudly living their most authentic lives, 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 2022 on a sweet note, here are a handful of notable LGBTQ+ celebs who celebrated this year's Pride in the absolute best way possible!
Aunjanue Ellis
The Oscar-nominated King Richard actress had long been out as bisexual to her friends and coworkers, but it was when she went to the 2022 Essence Black Women in Hollywood Awards that she first commented on her sexuality publicly. She did so by having the word "Queer" emblazoned on her Dolce & Gabanna suit jacket in rhinestones on her left arm.
However, despite the statement, not very many people caught onto her coming out.
"I was thinking, 'Why didn't more people pay attention to that?' And I was like, 'They probably thought it said 'Queen,'" she told Variety in June. "It wasn't that I was expecting any sort of major reaction or anything like that. One of my family members noticed, but nobody else did."
According to Ellis, that family member already knew she was bi, but felt "hurt" that she would express her sexuality so publicly.
"I am a work in progress, and my family and my community are works in progress," she said. "I really believe that that is important to say because I'm not alone. We see people on the other side of it, where everybody's good and fine: 'Love is love.'"
Kesha
Though the pop singer has been open about her sexuality for years (in 2019 she told Attitude that she was bisexual and in an open relationship), she took to Instagram in June to celebrate Pride Month and to talk even further about her sexuality, reminding everyone that she is, in fact, a queer icon who is "not gay and not straight."
"In case I haven't been straightforward enough (LOL) I just wanted to take a sec to tell everyone that you are not only enough, just as you are, but the world is so fucking lucky to have you," she wrote in her post. "I'm not gay. I'm not straight. I don't know what I am. I love people. I love people because we are all our own little consciousness journeys, dancing around the sun."
"How weird and interesting and fun this life is, right? I refuse to be anything, really, except for open to it all," she continued. "I know it can be confusing sometimes, but you are so seen and loved. Love u animals, happy pride see u at Stonewall soon!!!!!"
Luke Baines
Though he didn't specifically label himself, the Shadowhunters actor publicly came out in a June Instagram post where he said he has fallen in love twice in his life, once to a woman and once to a man.
"I've been lucky enough to have been in love twice -- the first time with a woman, the second with a man," he wrote.
He continued:
"Label that however you like, but all I know that...love is love. Happy Pride!"
Rebel Wilson
Though she didn't specifically label herself, the Pitch Perfect and Senior Year actor came out in a June Instagram post where she revealed she has a girlfriend, a woman named Ramona Agruma.
"I thought I was searching for a Disney Prince," she captioned the sweet pic, alongside a rainbow emoji and the hashtag #LoveIsLove. "But maybe what I really needed all this time was a Disney Princess."
Dan Jervis
The British distance swimmer and Olympian publicly came out as gay in June after competing at the World Championships in Budapest.
"I was adjusting to everything else, just trying to fit in -- until I thought, 'Just be you,'" Jervis told the BBC's LGBT Sport Podcast.
"You know, we're just before the Commonwealth Games, and there are going to be kids and adults watching who will know that I'm like them and that I'm proud of who I am," he continued. "Now is a good time for me because the Commonwealth Games is in a month's time, and there's going to be a lot of people watching that, and there are so many countries in the Commonwealth where being gay is illegal. And for me to be [visible] on that stage and to inspire people is what I'm here to do."
Leon Brown
Leon Brown, the child of Sister Wives stars Kody Brown and Meri Brown, came out as trans and genderqueer, and "unapologetic" in a June Instagram post.
Brown started their message by saying that someone recently told them they didn't have to have everything figured out in order to share it.
"So here's me, definitely not having almost any of my shit figured out, to let you know that I am trans," they wrote. "My name is Leon or Leo (I love both) and my pronouns are they/them."
"I remember the first time that I knew I wasn't a girl," their message continues. "I was pretty young & unfortunately I grew up in a context that was incredibly gendered & restrictive. So I continued to be socialized as a girl & later a woman. And here's the thing, I'm finally ready to share my favorite with the world. And that self is incredibly genderqueer, trans, and unapologetic."
Elizabeth Corrigan
Elizabeth Corrigan, who is best known for being a contestant on The Bachelor's 26th season earlier this year publicly came out as bisexual in June after attending her first Pride in New York City.
"It's hard to know the right way to say these things, or the right time. Today seems like both and neither," she wrote on Instagram. "Am I ready? No. Am I scared? Yes. Will the 'right time' come? Qualify it."
She continued:
"It's important to me today to share with you all that I am queer. More specifically I am, always have been, and always will be--bisexual."
ND Stevenson
