CNN weekend anchor Don Lemon has revealed that he is gay.
Lemon says while he never hid his sexuality from his coworkers, this is the first time he is acknowledging it publicly.
"Today I chose to step out on faith and begin openly living my own truth. There was a time when I was terrified of revealing these things to the person I love most in this world -- my own mother."
"But when I finally mustered the courage to tell her that I had been molested as a child and that I was born gay, my life began to change in positive ways that I never imagined possible."
"Yet I still chose to keep those secrets hidden from the world," continues the 45-year-old. "I, like most gay people, lived a life of fear. Fear that if some employers, coworkers, friends, neighbors and family members learned of my sexuality, I would be shunned, mocked and ostracized."
"It is a burden that millions of people carry with them every single day. And sadly, while the mockery and ostracizing are realized by millions of people every day, I truly believe it doesn't have to happen."
"I think it would be great if everybody could be out," Lemon adds. "But it's such a personal choice. People have to do it at their own speed. I respect that. I do have to say that the more people who come out, the better it is for everyone, certainly for the Tyler Clementis of the world."
CNN weekend anchor Don Lemon has revealed that he is gay.
