Queerness is so en vogue at the moment! So trendy and cool — now a former Bachelor is cashing in and coming out. Wednesday on ABC's Good Morning America, former Bachelor Colton Underwood did just that. Of course, the public will be dying to know every ounce of detail regarding his incredible story of self-realization. Fortunately for the culture, Netflix will be providing just what the world so desperately needs, a new reality series starring Underwood, the latest gay man.
And predictably, GMA co-host Robin Roberts treaded lightly in all-but ignoring Underwood's creeper and stalker-like behavior toward now-ex-girlfriend Cassie Randolph.
Underwood sent shockwaves when he came out as gay to Roberts, who's a lesbian: “I’ve ran from myself for a long time. I’ve hated myself for a long time, and I’m gay. I came to terms with that earlier this year and have been processing it and the next step in all of this was sort of letting people know. Still nervous but, yeah, it's been a journey for sure.”
Stunning. Brave.
Famously known as “The Virgin Bachelor,” the Catholic former NFL player announced that a new Netflix series already in production will document his coming out and life as a gay man and feature Olympian Gus Kenworthy, a freestyle skier who came out in 2015 and is now Underwood’s gay sidekick.
Underwood discussed his Catholic upbringing with GMA where he “learned in the Bible that gay is a sin.”
“I’ve know that I’ve been different since the age of 6, and I couldn’t process it and I couldn’t put my finger on what it was until my freshman year of high school when I knew I was gay,” he said.
Since then, he struggled with being honest with himself, but now is “closer to God” by coming out even though he “used to wake up in the morning and pray for Him to take the gay away.” After finding out he was going to be the 23rd Bachelor, he thanked God “for making me straight” by giving him the chance to find a wife and have children.
While the whole world weighed in on the matter of Underwood’s sexuality, some were distrustful and/or wondered whether it was a publicity stunt, given his treatment of Randolph. But that was only footnoted by Roberts before allowing Underwood to vaguely state how he was “sorry for how things ended” and admit that he “made a lot of bad choices”: “Colton also sharing a message for Cassie, the woman he jumped the fence for on The Bachelor...Their relationship ending tumultuously last year, Cassie filing and dropping a restraining order against him.”
Previously, Underwood received backlash for following conservative Candance Owens on Instagram. In some corners, he is not being welcomed as a member of the LGBTQ community because his political views are considered too right-leaning.
One particular instance from Underwood’s Bachelor days has resurfaced that takes on new meaning in the wake of his coming out. It is a short moment involving comedian Billy Eichner:
I’m happy for @colton. If you’re gay, be gay! I’ve been gay forever & I love it! https://t.co/vuDWy7HVap
— billy eichner (@billyeichner) April 14, 2021
Unfortunately, the time when The Bachelor features an out member of the LGBTQ community may not be far off.
