• Thursday, March 28, 2024

Entertainment

Kal Penn comes out as gay, says “I discovered my own sexuality late in life”

Kal Penn (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

By: Murtuza Nullwala

Indian-American actor Kal Penn is known for his performances in Harold & Kumar film series, House (TV series), Designated Survivor (TV Series), and others. He was also a former White House staff member in the Barack Obama administration.

Penn is all set to launch his book, You Can’t Be Serious, on 2nd November 2021, and the actor in it has shared his love story with his fiancé Josh.

While talking to People Magazine, the actor opened up about sharing his relationship story in the book. He said, “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. 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.”

“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,” he added.

Further revealing about his coming out story, Penn said, “I shared things with my parents and close friends first. 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 sh*t out at different times in their lives, so I’m glad I did when I did,” the actor added.

Well, of course, a wedding is on the cards for Penn and his partner Josh, but he isn’t sure if it will be a big wedding or a small one.

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 a quick 20-minute thing with our families and that’s it.’ So we have to meet halfway in the middle.”

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