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Wayne Brady Comes Out as Pansexual in New Interview

Wayne Brady Comes Out as Pansexual in New Interview

Wayne Brady
Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

"I love all people equally, and now that includes myself," Wayne Brady explained.

@wgacooper
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Comic and Let’s Make a Deal host is living his authentic self and has publically come out as pansexual.

In an interview and essay published Monday with People, Brady, 51, said, “I am pansexual.’

Or, the Whose Line Is It Anyway? star joked, “Bisexual – with an open mind!”

"I love all people equally, and now that includes myself," he explained.

Wayne first came out to his ex-wife Mandie Taketa, 47, who he shares a daughter with, Maile, 20.

“I just said, ‘Great.’ As I knew coming out would help him be happier,” Taketa told the magazine.

Their daughter’s reaction?

“I just said, ‘Okay,” Maile said, smiling.

The three along with Taketa’s partner Jason Fordham are filming a new reality series set to premiere on Hulu next year. Taketa and Fordham welcomed a new child two years ago, and Brady acts as a co-parent, People reports.

Brady explained that he came to identify as pansexual because he realized he could be attracted to anyone who was gay, bi, trans, or nonbinary.

He said that pansexuality to him means "being able to be attracted across the board. And, I think, at least for me for right now, that is the proper place. I took pan to mean that not only can I be attracted to any of these people or types physically, but I could be attracted to the person that is there.”

Brady shares his personal journey in the interview, ranging from dealing with the impact of Robin Williams’ death in 2014 to coming to terms with himself and learning to love himself.

In one intimate discussion, Brady explained that while he’s been attracted to men, he’s never dated a man.

“Let's be really honest: I've also been attracted to certain men in my life, but I've always pushed that aside because of how I was raised, and because I live in today's world, and it's scary as sh*t.”

He added that he’s been living with the shame of people finding out, but while he was an outspoken ally to his friends and family who are LGBTQ+ he wasn’t being honest about himself.

For now, he’s trying to be the “most Wayne Brady I can be.”

Or, “I don’t know about most, actually. I’m still coming together,” Brady shares. “I am single, but it's not about being with someone right now. I've got some work to do still. Then, Wayne as a single, open-minded pansexual can make a decision and be free and open to other people.”

@wgacooper
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