EXCLUSIVEWayne Brady Is 'Living With Ease' After Coming Out as Pansexual: 'I Shared It to Be Real'
May 22 2024, Published 9:15 a.m. ET
Wayne Brady has never felt lighter and happier since he came out as pansexual in August 2023.
"To be honest, I knew a lot of people would [praise me]. That's always the hope, but I knew I'd have some people saying things to the contrary and there would be some people that didn't like it — but that's just life. At the end of the day, just like reviews, just like Broadway show audiences, you're doing it because it's a thing that you love to do and because it's authentic to you, not for the response. If you do that, then you'll be disappointed at some point. I shared it to be real and that's it," the actor, 51, exclusively told OK! on Monday, May 20, at the Live Out Loud’s 23rd annual Young Trailblazers Gala in New York City, where he received the Pathfinder Award in recognition of his support and advocacy for the LGBTQ+ community.
Wayne Brady received the Pathfinder Award in recognition of his support and advocacy for the LGBTQ+ community.
The TV host, who turned 50 almost two years ago, feels like he's "living with ease" these days, especially since he gets to be part of such special events, including the recent gala.
"I'm honored to be honored! The fact that I can be looked at as an inspiration or a guide mark to the youth, especially knowing that they can go through their journey makes me incredibly happy," he gushed. "As a father of a 21-year-old, I know that journey can be rough, and if there's a young adult that can be inspired and live authentically from that age instead of waiting around until they're 50, that's what I want to see happen."
"I'd say the only person that you need to make happy is yourself," Brady continued. "It's a very small truth, but it's a big truth that not everyone does."
Wayne Brady came out as pansexual in August 2023.
Brady doesn't consider himself an "icon" in the LGBTQ+ community, but he's adamant on helping others.
"If you have any type of platform and you can inspire anybody, then you've done your job," he shared.
The star has a daughter whom he shares with his ex-wife Mandie Taketa.
Looking ahead, Brady is booked and busy — just the way he likes it! "From here, I go film Let's Make a Deal. We shoot our 16th season and then my show on Hulu and Freeform called Wayne Brady: The Family Remix comes out. We have four shows in development right now, so it's jumping into those things," he said, adding that he doesn't "dabble" in different things. "Those are my jobs. Dabbling is making an oil painting in your shed that nobody will see. This is my job."
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Bonnie Milligan, Peppermint, Marti G. Cummings, Wayne Brady and Nya celebrating at Live Out Loud's 23rd Annual Trailblazers Gala. Live Out Loud is a nonprofit organization determined to uplift and protect local New York City LGBTQ+ youth. The gala was hosted at the Lighthouse at Chelsea Piers, where the organization presented awards to Brady and Peppermint, along with other deserving honorees and young scholarship recipients, showcasing what their resources for families, schools, and communities for over 2 decades have achieved.
Though he's ventured into many different mediums — from acting to hosting to being a comedian — he has "so many things left" to check off his list. "That's part of feeling free — because I feel so free, I think I can attack them," he explained. "I've been an actor for over 30 years, so I know rejection. Just because you are rejected over here doesn't mean that you're not going to be accepted over there, and that's life. I refuse to be put in a box."
"It's what I've always wanted," he said of having longevity in showbiz. "I look at people like Harrison Ford and Morgan Freeman who have been doing this their entire life. That's what I want."
