Popular YouTuber Andrea Russett came out as bisexual on an Instagram post.
The lengthy post describes not just her own experiences coming out as bi, but having a good friend turn out to be homophobic.
Coming out as bi
‘Sandra and I had a very close, very public friendship,’ the 21 September post reads.
‘Because of that, I feel it’s best I just address this so we can all move on,’ she continues, talking about her former best friend.
‘I came out to Sandra as bisexual 4 years ago. Surprise! Yeah, not exactly how I planned to come out publicly, but shit happens I guess.’
‘Anyway, she was the very first person I came out to. Following this, as I came out to more and more friends, she was always there to give me advice on girls I liked. She sat with me while I cried about the thought of coming out to my parents. She knew me better than anyone in my life. She was family to me.’
Homophobic best friend
‘Over the last year, my friend who is openly gay, attended a nondenominational church with Sandra. On the drive home he was asking questions about her views on religion, one of them being “so do you think I’m going to hell because I’m gay?”’
‘Sandra responded yes. She went on to tell him that he can be “saved” with conversion therapy.’
‘When he shared this information with me I was at a loss for words. But still, I knew I needed to ask her directly. I needed to hear it from her mouth.’
‘So I did just that. I straight up asked Sandra, “Do you think that because I’m bisexual, I’m going to hell?’’
‘She looked at me dead in the eyes and said yes. She went on to tell me that she believes being gay [is] a choice. I asked her is these have always been her views and she said yes.’
‘I will never find the words to properly describe [the] hurt I felt in that moment.’
‘She was one of the only people I trusted in my life. And now all I can do is rethink every conversation we had, every situation in which I was with a girl around her, and wonder what she really thought of me. Wonder if she was judging me.’
Moving on
‘It is a very deep and personal hurt that I do not plan on acknowledging or discussing after this post. I am heartbroken and confused. I don’t know why she chose to move in with me while having these beliefs. I don’t know that I even want to know at this point.’
‘I’m choosing to move forward and focus on the people in my life who love and accept me for who I am.’
‘And to anyone who is struggling with anything similar in their life, you are not alone. You are not any less of a person because of who you may choose to love. How you make others feel about themselves says a lot about you. Love is love.’
Russett seems to have disabled comments on the post. Still, she took to Twitter to thank her fans for their love and support during this time.
before i log off for a bit i just wanna say an enormous thank u. for listening. for empathizing. for understanding. i mean it when i say i never thought i would have the strength or courage to come out. it feels like a weight has been lifted, and like i can BREATHE. thank u ♥️
— Andrea Russett (@AndreaRussett) September 22, 2018
