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Tyler Clementi Felt Rejected by Mom

Tyler-rotator

Clementi's parents give first interview since his death to 'People' magazine

jerryportwood

"Mom has basically completely rejected me," Tyler Clementi wrote to a friend shortly after he revealed his homosexuality, according to court documents. Clementi, who jumped to his death from the George Washington Bridge in September 2010, and whose death helped spur campaigns against bullying, came out to his parents just three weeks prior, said his mother an interview with People magazine, the first given since Tyler's death.

"I told him I needed time," Jane Clementi told the magazine. "You have dreams for your children, and when someone tells you this, your dreams are kind of shattered for that moment. I was processing it, but cutting him out of my life was never a possibility."

James Clementi, Tyler's older brother, 26, also came out to his parents several months ago, according to People.

Dharun Ravi, Clementi's roommate at Rutgers, where they were both enrolled, is set to stand trial Feb. 21 on 15 counts, including invasion of privacy, having allegedly used a webcam to record Tyler kissing another man.

In an Feb. 2010 article for Out magazine, Paul Zilber described communicating with Clementi via Facebook about demonstrating against the homophobic, anti-Semitic Westboro Baptist Church, which seriously questioned the consensus that he felt shame about his sexuality.

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