Who is Kal Penn's boyfriend Josh? Actor says 'I want the big Indian wedding'
Actor Kal Penn, best known for his role in 'Harold & Kumar' franchise, has opened up about his sexuality ahead of the release of his much-awaited memoir -- 'You Can't Be Serious'. Penn has revealed that he is homosexual and had fallen in love with his partner, Josh, when he worked for the Obama administration as many as 11 years back. 44-year-old Penn and Josh have been engaged for several years now, and are now planning to get married.
"I've always been very public with everybody I've personally interacted with. Whether it's somebody that I meet at a bar, if Josh and I are out or we're talking to friends," Penn said in an interview with PEOPLE. "I'm really excited to share our relationship with readers. But Josh, my partner, my parents, and my brother, four people who I'm closest to in the family, are fairly quiet. They don't love attention and shy away from the limelight."
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Explaining that he wanted to be absolutely truthful in his book, the 'Designated Survivor' star said, "Figuring out the narrative [in the book], of how to respect who they really are, with telling my story — that includes: my work life, both in Hollywood and DC, it includes my love life with Josh and how we met, it includes my parents, to the extent that I'm willing to share stories about their upbringing. "So that was the most important thing for me. I wanted my story to be authentic from my perspective and told in a way that makes you feel like you really get to know me."
Penn and Josh's first date
In his memoir, Penn has spoken about his first date with Josh, and his shock at discovering that he arrived at his apartment with an 18-pack of Coors Light, and immediately switched the TV to watch NASCAR. "I thought, 'This obviously is not going to work out," Penn recalled. "I have one day off from The White House and this dude is unironically watching cars go around and make left turns? Next thing you know, it's been a couple months and we're watching NASCAR every Sunday. I'm like, 'What is happening?' I wanted the reader to enjoy the love and the humor through all of those stories."
"The whole point of writing this book was for the reader to feel like we're having a beer together. I thought, if we're supposed to feel like we're having a beer together, then I want to take you into my stories and I want you to experience them with the same joy that I've experienced them. That was the way that my friends have met my parents and Josh, as they've gotten to know them over the last 10 years," Penna added.
Penn said that he is grateful to his family for supporting him through thick and thin, and especially with regard to his relationship with Josh. "I shared things with my parents and close friends first," he said. "I know this sounds jokey, but it's true: When you've already told your Indian parents and the South Asian community that you intend to be an actor for a living, really any conversations that come after that are super easy. They're just like, 'Yeah, okay.' I felt very supported by everyone. That's a wonderful thing. I know everybody has different experiences with that and so I definitely feel very fortunate. I discovered my own sexuality relatively late in life compared to many other people. There's no timeline on this stuff. People figure their s**t out at different times in their lives, so I'm glad I did when I did," he added.
Penn is now promoting the book and also planning his wedding. "I really hope that people enjoy the book. I hope it makes people laugh and smile," he said. "Obviously I am engaged to a man and our families will be there for the wedding. The big disagreement now is whether it's a huge wedding or a tiny wedding. I want the big ass Indian wedding. Josh, hates attention, [has said], 'Or we could just do quick 20-minute thing with our families and that's it.' So we have to meet halfway in the middle." We just cannot wait for Kal Penn to spill more tea on his romance.