Charlie Carver Comes Out as Gay

’Teen Wolf’ star Charlie Carver shared some big news via his instagram account in a series of posts by announcing he is gay.

“Be who you needed when you were younger.” He begins his revelation.

“It was around that age [as a young boy] that I also knew, however abstractly, that I was different from some of the other boys in my grade,” Carver wrote on the first post in the series.

“Over time, this abstract “knowing” grew and articulated itself through a painful gestation marked by feelings of despair and alienation, ending in a climax of saying three words out loud: “I am gay,” he added.

Carver has played a handful of gay characters on television, including appearing opposite his twin straight brother Max on the hit MTV series where he played an openly gay character on the show and had a longtime crush on fellow BHHS student Danny.

Charlie hopes his confession will set a good example to other young people who fear their sexuality may someday hold them back.

“Honesty is probably a great step in the right direction,” he wrote. “I now believe that by omitting this part of myself from the record, I am complicit in perpetuating the suffering, fear and shame cast upon so many in the world. So now, let the record show this: I self-identify as gay. As a young man, I needed a young man in Hollywood to say that.”

Pt 1: “Be who you needed when you were younger”. About a year ago, I saw this photo while casually scrolling through my Instagram one morning. I’m not one for inspirational quotes, particularly ones attributed to “Mx Anonymous”- something mean in me rebukes the pithiness of proverbs, choosing to judge them as trite instead of possibly-generally-wise, resonant, or helpful. And in the case of the good ol’ Anonymous kind, I felt that there was something to be said for the missing context. Who wrote or said the damn words? Why? And to/for who in particular? Nonetheless, I screen-capped the picture and saved it. It struck me for some reason, finding itself likeable enough to join the ranks of the “favorites” album on my phone. I’d see it there almost daily, a small version of it next to my other “favorites”; I’d see it every time I checked into the gym, pulled up a picture of my insurance cards, my driver’s license…. Important Documents. And over the course of about-a-year, it became clear why the inspirational photo had called out to me. As a young boy, I knew I wanted to be an actor. I knew I wanted to be a lot of things! I thought I wanted to be a painter, a soccer player, a stegosaurus… But the acting thing stuck. It was around that age that I also knew, however abstractly, that I was different from some of the other boys in my grade. Over time, this abstract “knowing” grew and articulated itself through a painful gestation marked by feelings of despair and alienation, ending in a climax of saying three words out loud: “I am gay”. I said them to myself at first, to see how they felt. They rang true, and I hated myself for them. I was twelve. It would take me a few years before I could repeat them to anyone else, in the meantime turning the phrase over and over in my mouth until I felt comfortable and sure enough to let the words pour out again, this time to my family…

A photo posted by Charlie Carver (@charliecarver) on Jan 11, 2016 at 2:14pm PST