YouTuber Ricky Dillon Comes Out as Gay

YouTuber Ricky Dillon has come out as gay in a recent video uploaded to his channel.

“This already feels so weird just telling it to a camera,” he says. “I’m gay. I am gay… And I am finally okay with it.”

Dillon, who was once part of the popular YouTube collaboration O2L, came out as asexual back in 2016. Now, he says that was all a part of refusing to acknowledge that he’s gay, and that accepting his sexuality has been an ongoing process since 2017. He’s finally at a place where he is “1000% sure,” and he’s opening up about his identity now because he’s tired of feeling like he’s playing an outdated version of himself in his YouTube videos.

“I wanted to come out years ago. I’m not scared of telling you guys,” he says. “That being said, there’s still so much of the world that is homophobic and hateful, and thinks that being gay is a lifestyle and something you choose. I did not choose to be depressed and have crippling anxiety over this for three years.”

In the video, Dillon admits that the source of his anxiety is that he hasn’t yet told his family that he’s gay, and he doesn’t think they’ll react well.

“I grew up in a family and in an environment…where being gay is so wrong,” he says. “I grew up Christian, very religious. I grew up in Alabama, and I was taught that being gay is a horrible sin, it’s so bad, it’s the worst thing you can be. It was drilled into my brain from an early age that being gay is one of the worst things that can happen.”

His religious upbringing caused him to refuse to even consider that he might be gay for the longest time, going through a dozen girlfriends before coming out as asexual, until finally he couldn’t hide the truth from himself any longer.

“I’ve been with several guys now, and it’s the most natural and comfortable thing ever,” Dillon says. “It just clicks. It all makes sense. And it feels right. And I finally felt like I’m myself.”