Happy National Coming Out Day!
When is National Coming Out Day 2021?
National Coming Out Day 2021 is Monday, October 11. Each year, this day supports the LGBTQ+ community and their decisions to make their identity known.
The Human Rights Campaign website has loads of resources for coming out, and for being an LGBTQ+ ally.
At Hollywood.com, we’re celebrating National Coming Out Day by shining a light on 4 Hollywood celebs who act as role models for all, inspiring the LGBTQ+ community to be proud of who they are while encouraging a more diverse representation of the gender and sexuality spectrum in Hollywood.
Halsey
In March 2021, Halsey changed their Instagram profile pronouns to she/them, and fans were so supportive and inspired.
The profile change came a few weeks after the then-pregnant Halsey shared how pregnancy affected their relationship with their body. “I thought pregnancy would give me very strong, binary feelings about ‘womanhood’ but truly it has leveled my perception of gender entirely,” Halsey says in their caption. “My sensitivity to my body has made me hyper aware of my humanness and that’s all.”
Since then Halsey acknowledged Bi Awareness Week with a reel about how they still identify as bisexual despite having a baby with their boyfriend.
halsey changing their pronouns to she/they makes me feel so much more valid i love that for them
— Lex ⚔️ (@BlTTERGOODBYE) March 13, 2021
Bisexuality has nothing to do with your current relationship status or your decision to have a child. Sexuality and gender are both on a spectrum!
Halsey’s vulnerability had such a HollyGOOD impact on their fans, well before their August 2021 album release.
I’m 31 and still figuring out my pronouns and that’s okay. I want give myself grace and love and support knowing that one day I’ll be able to identify to who I truly am Seeing @halsey change their pronouns just gives me so much courage to dive deep into my depths and find myself
— ?BRITTANY?✨ (@Brittanylynn99) March 14, 2021
halsey changing their pronouns made me confident enough to open up about my pronouns to my parents ? i’m so proud of her i love them so much pls
— ً (@habitbIud) March 14, 2021
halsey changing their pronouns to she/they makes me feel so much more valid i love that for them
— Lex ⚔️ (@BlTTERGOODBYE) March 13, 2021
We love you, Halsey!
Elliot Page
Elliot Page’s March 2021 TIME magazine cover and interview was his first since coming out as transgender in December 2020. TIME says how even though Elliot Page loved making movies, “he also felt alienated by Hollywood and its standards.”
Elliot Page shares with TIME how the isolation of the pandemic allowed him to focus on himself and his gender identity. He says he was inspired by women like Janet Mock and Laverne Cox who identified as transgender but still found success in Hollywood; seeing them be successful inspired him to let go of his shame. Elliot Page says to TIME, “I was finally able to embrace being transgender and letting myself fully become who I am.”
In an April 2021 interview with Vanity Fair, Elliot Page talks with trans journalist Thomas Page McBee about their feelings since coming out:
“My feelings aren’t really linear. I feel emerging joy and excitement one moment, and then in the next, profound sadness reading about people wanting to take gender-affirming health care away from children. I feel so grateful to be at this place in my life, and I want to use the strength I have to help in all the ways that I can. How can I feel grateful for my joy, and embrace my joy, and allow myself to have that joy—but then put that joy and that love into action?”
Throughout the year, Elliot has been putting that joy and love into action by using his platform to help inform fans about they can take action to protect trans youth.
Amidst his activism work, Elliot Page remains in the spotlight, walking for Balenciaga at Paris Fashion Week in an incredible pair of Balenciaga hard platform Crocs.
We love you, Elliot!
Lil Nas X
Rapper Lil Nas X came out in 2019, but 2021 was a huge year for the artist. In March, he released “MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name)” with a letter to his 14-year-old self, saying “i know we promised to never come out publicly…but this will open doors for many other queer people to simply exist.”
— MONTERO ? (@LilNasX) March 26, 2021
His message resonated with many fans. @RoxanneLaWin tweeted “I didn’t fully realise I was queer until I was about 35. If there were more out artists, and queer mainstream art, maybe I would’ve lived a fuller life before now.”
Since then, Lil Nas X has been thriving with the release of his debut album Montero, a VMA appearance in the perfect dress, an SNL appearance, and a Dolly Parton approved cover of “Jolene.”
We love you, Lil Nas X!
Jojo Siwa
Jojo Siwa came out as pansexual in January 2021 through a series of posts on social media, later opening up to People through a cover story interview.
It was a bold move for the 17-year-old star, who worried about the negative backlash it could cause her hugely successful career as a dancer, YouTube creator, and an icon for young children.
Jojo Siwa tells People how it was hard to put a label on her identity:
“I still don’t know what I am. It’s like, I want to figure it out…I always just say gay because it just kind of covers it or queer because I think the keyword is cool…”Technically I would say that I am pansexual because that’s how I have always been my whole life is just like, my human is my human.”
“I never wanted [my coming out] to be a big deal,” she goes on to say in her People cover story. “But it was: Never before has someone with such a young fan base identified publicly as LGBTQ.”
Unfortunately, the world we live in means Jojo Siwa had to take some risks by being honest about her identity. She read thousands of comments in response to coming out, and not all of them were positive.
“My thing is, I don’t want people to watch my videos or buy my merchandise if they aren’t going to support not only me, but the LGBTQ community,” Jojo says to People.
Luckily, with many major celebrities supporting her announcement alongside devoted fans, the good outweighed the negative, which kept Jojo Siwa as upbeat as we all know her to be!
We applaud Jojo Siwa for living and THRIVING in her truth! She is the first to compete with a same-sex partner on this season’s Dancing with the Stars after starring in the Paramount+ movie musical The J-Team and continuing to score licensing and merchandise deals.
Jojo Siwa is proof that your sexuality does not have to be black and white, and how good people will love and support you when you decide to come out. My 5-year-old niece is a huge Jojo Siwa fan. When I asked her what she loves about Jojo Siwa, she said “she’s the perfect girl.” I couldn’t agree more –– we love you, Jojo Siwa!
We love you too, Hollywooder! How are you celebrating National Coming Out Day? Hollywood.com is here to support you however we can. DM us on Instagram or Twitter if you need someone to open up to today and any day!
More Entertainment News Like This: Watching ‘Zoolander’ With My Teenage Brother, 20 Years After Its Release
Hollywood.com is EVERYONE’S ticket to Hollywood. We focus on the GOOD in Hollywood, spotlighting the feel-good stories that matter about your favorite celebs plus new movies in theaters. Later this year, we’re helping you get back to the movie theaters with the FREE and NEW Hollywood.com Movie Tickets App that lets you compare movie showtimes, see movie theaters near you, and reserve your favorite movie theater seats in seconds! Follow us on Instagram for early access.
