Wayne Brady came out as pansexual
Actor and entertainer Wayne Brady opened up about his sexuality during an interview published Monday, saying he is pansexual.
The host of the game show “Let’s Make a Deal” said he had suppressed his sexuality and felt worried about people finding out, while also feeling shame about not being honest about himself, in an exclusive interview with People.
Since then, the actor and comedian – famous for the sketch comedy show “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” and “Dancing With the Stars” – also posted a video on Instagram advocating for mental health and announcing that he is a “part of the lgbtq+ family.”
Here is what you need to know about Brady, 51, and pansexuality:
What did Wayne Brady say in the interview?
“I am pansexual,” Brady said. “Bisexual – with an open mind!”
Brady added that “pan means being able to be attracted to anyone who identifies as gay, straight, bi, transsexual or nonbinary. Being able to be attracted across the board.”
Brady also spoke about how he has felt attracted to “certain men” but has always pushed that aside “because of how I was raised, and because I live in today’s world, and it’s scary as s—-.” Brady said he was taught from a young age that calling someone gay was a way to hurt or emasculate them.
“I don’t think I’m gay, but what if I feel something for another [man]… . That’s still gay,” he said. “I was already bullied about a bunch of other s—-. I didn’t wanna add a top hat on top of that suit.”
The single entertainer said that, during his path of self-discovery, he realized he had always loved his daughter and his family, but he needed to work harder on loving himself.
Brady touched on his childhood in Orlando and how he once had a stutter, “brought on by anxiety and bullying and stress.” He said he chooses to live in a canyon in Malibu and not in the middle of Hollywood because he is an introvert.
What does pansexual mean?
People define “pansexual” in varying ways. Brady “took pan to mean that not only can I be attracted to any of these people or types physically, but I could be attracted to the person that is there.”
GLAAD, an LGBTQ+ nonprofit organization, defines someone who is pansexual as “a person who has the capacity to form enduring physical, romantic, and/or emotional attractions to any person, regardless of gender identity.”
Sexologist Carol Queen tells Teen Vogue that “there is no exact definition for pansexuality, and people who identify as pansexual might want to be ready to clarify their own specific ‘take’ on this identity to people who are confused about its implication.”
What is the difference between bisexual and pansexual?
A bisexual person “has the potential to be physically, romantically, and/or emotionally attracted to people of more than one gender, not necessarily at the same time, in the same way, or to the same degree,” according to GLAAD.
Some people use the labels bisexual and pansexual interchangeably, Kate Estrop, who sits on the Bisexual Resource Center’s board of directors, previously told The Washington Post. “Pansexual came out of the complication people had with ‘bi’ implying binary,” Estrop adds.
Either term can include attraction beyond the male-female gender binary, including to those who are transgender, gender-fluid, androgynous, intersex and more.
How did Brady’s family react to him coming out?
The first person Brady came out to was his ex-wife, Mandie Taketa, 47. “I just said, ‘Great.’ As I knew coming out would help him be happier,” she told People.
Their 20-year-old daughter, Maile Brady, responded with a shrug and an, “Okay,” she said during the interview, with a proud smile.
Brady, along with Maile, Taketa and Taketa’s partner, Jason Fordham, is filming a reality series about their blended family. Taketa and Fordham welcomed a new baby in 2021, and Brady is considered a co-parent, People said.
The Washington Post’s Lisa Bonos contributed to this report.