YouTuber Dan Howell comes out as gay in video posted during Pride Month: 'This feels like a new chapter to me'
Breaking his year-long silence, popular YouTuber and BBC host Dan Howell has come out with a new video titled 'Basically I'm Gay' in which he came out as gay to his 6.4 million subscribers.
"Queer people exist," Howell can be heard saying in the 45-minute video. "Choosing not to accept them is not an option. To anyone watching this that isn't out, it's OK. You're OK. You were born this way. It's right. And anyone that has a problem with it is wrong."
Howell wrote on Twitter that the video has been in the works for a long time, but he wanted to upload it during the Pride Month. The YouTuber, who is from London, added in his video: "Queer people exist."
"Choosing not to accept them is not an option. To anyone watching this that isn’t out, it’s okay. You’re okay. You were born this way. It’s right. And anyone that has a problem with it is wrong. Based on your circumstance you might not feel ready to tell people yet, or that it’s safe, and that’s fine too. Just know that living your truth with pride is the way to be happy. You are valid. It gets so much better. And the future is clear. It’s pretty queer," he said.
Howell often collaborates with another YouTuber, Phil Lester, who has 4 million subscribers. Howell also revealed in the video was that he and Lester, who presents with him on BBC, once dated.
"I'm sure no one who knows me thinks I am straight, so I don't really need to come out, as much as just clarify what the hell is going on," Howell says at the beginning of the video, before talking about his sexual orientation. Howell credited his fans for helping him feel comfortable to be open about his sexuality.
"[T]his really feels like a new chapter for me," he tweeted after posting the video. "[I] doubted all my life that the world would change to be a place I could personally feel open and accepted and that’s because of all of you. thank you."