In an interview with GQ Australia, Ricky Martin, the singer who denied gay rumors for years before coming out in 2010, admits that his religious upbringing and self-hate led him to bully other gay men while growing up.
"I was very angry, very rebellious. I used to look at gay men and think, I'm not like that, I don't want to be like that, that's not me. I was ashamed. When you're told you're wrong by everyone, from society, from your faith -- my self-esteem was crushed. I took my anger out on those around me," he said. "I look back now and realize I would bully people who I knew were gay. I internalized homophobia"
Martin has of course grown out of that and today is one of the more prominent LGBT celebrities to speak out against bullying and homophobia. Not all gay men are as enlightened, though. Do you think the sentiments he carried as a child carry over to adulthood for others, thus providing an explanation for why so many gay men still insist on tearing one another down?
[h/t Towleroad]
[Images via GQ Australia]
