Walking Dead star Daniel Newman is clearing up the confusion that seems to be lingering around his sexuality.
To make a long story short: The 36-year-old ginger came out as bisexual on social media earlier this year, first with a video, then on Twitter.
I'm #OUTandPROUD #LGBT Love you guys. Be proud to be yourself. We need everyone just the way you are! I'll chat with you guys tonight
— Daniel Newma? (@DanielNewman) March 30, 2017
Now, he’s clapping back at media outlets that falsely reported he came out as gay.
Speaking to the Advocate, Newman says, “People magazine even said that I was gay. I had just told the reporter about being bisexual and having girlfriends and things like that. She was like, ‘Oh, cool. Are you in a relationship?’ And I was like, ‘Yeah, I have an incredible boyfriend.’ And she’s like, ‘Oh, cool. It’s awesome you came out as gay.’”
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Newman let the comment slide at the time. In hindsight, he wishes he would have corrected her.
“The article got published around the world that I said I was gay, which, I mean, it’s totally fine. But it was interesting to me that… if you have a boyfriend, [people think that] you’re 100 percent gay.”
He also took time to call out Hollywood for it’s portrayal of LGBTQ characters and stories, saying he would like the industry to “move forward” from the typical “sob stories” about queer people it tends to produce.
“The world needs to see the seamless integration of the LGBTQ [person] now in society, because that’s the way it is,” he says. “What needs to really be highlighted now, I think, is all the diversity. Show the masculine football player guys; show the guys that are running these huge industries… the incredible out leaders.”
Watch Newman’s moving coming out video first published back in March…
Related: “Walking Dead” actor Daniel Newman comes out in moving Youtube video
Raphael
That’s convenient…
PinkoOfTheGange
So most people believe what they read in a magazine (that has no story longer then it takes the average person’s pottie break to read, over the actual person?
What a country.
But he should of corrected the writer during the interview, although in a perfect world he wouldn’t of had to.
Loki
He was purposely evasive in most of those interviews. That’s what comes of identifying as “not straight” and “LGBT” (you can’t be both a gay man and a lesbian woman, so ID’ing as “LGBT” is just silly).
My guess is he has since broken up with the “incredible boyfriend” and those offers of more work have not materialized, so he’s making another bid for attention.
Donston
So, he’s saying he’s bi because he used to have a girlfriend? Once again, if you’re gonna come out as anything other than gay and you use it to get media (which he definitely did) ya gotta actually tell people why you identify as such, and it can’t be because you once had relationships with multiple genders or that you can manage to have sex with multiple genders. That’s not bisexuality. That’s a behavior. If you’re actually interested in educating people on sexual diversity (which so many bi-identifying male semi-celebs claim to be interested in) then you need to give real insight into your dimensions. He seems less interested in educating people than simply letting people know he’s not gay.
Also, he seemed to purposely be evasive when he initially came out. Almost like he knew there would be some confusion and therefore and he would clear up the confusion by and get some more press for it.
And as usual, I have no idea who he is. But I do love a hot pale ginger.
inbama
The bisexual threshold has been lowered to the point where you could claim it for watching straight porn.
dmanhart
Bisexual phobia much there buddy?
You might love a hot pale ginger, but he sure as hell wouldn’t want you!
Loki
I’m sick of this trend of GAAAAAYYY actors using a claim to bisexuality as a hedge. It’s “covering” – from Kenji Yoshino’s book: “To cover is to tone down a disfavored identity to fit into the mainstream.” It’s an attempt to make his gayness more palatable to the masses (read: a straight female audience).
“I’m sleeping with dudes now, but I had a girlfriend in college once. Please like me.”
“I f ucked a girl once, so I’m still good enough, manly enough for those leading man/romantic roles.”
People are all too easily confusing behavior and sexuality these days. There are gay ex-Mormon men who have married women and fathered children. A closeted, celibate priest is still gay even those he’s never had gay sex. Sexuality is about the sex you want, not necessarily the sex you’re having. A gay man being able to function sexually with someone of the opposite sex does not make him “bi-sexual.”
Donston
I actually am bisexual, the classic definition of the word, and I have bi-identifying friends and exes. But being “bisexual” can mean potentially 40 different things nowadays. It’s one of the reasons I went with “homo-dominant” as an identity instead. I’m really starting to feel “bisexual” should be a term for people who have legitimate and substantial sexual attraction to multiple genders and who can development romantic feelings for and a desire to commit to someone beyond one gender.
Too many people (particularly men) with inherently gay or very gay-leaning sexual attractions use “bisexual” to simply disassociate themselves from the words “gay” or “homo” when they are ready to fully embrace their homosexuality. (And they’ll be damned if they say “gay-leaning bisexual”). And too many “proud to be bi” guys are inherently gay or extremely gay-leaning men who simply don’t wish to live a “gay lifestyle”. I’m sorry, but if you know you only have real and substantial sexual attraction to one gender but you can’t connect with that gender romantically or commit to that gender that’s not really something to be “proud” of, and I’m not certain that’s so “bisexual”. Too many people with the most minuscule attraction to a particular gender, too many sexual megalomaniacs who want to fvck everything for the sake of ego and/or fetish and/or to “feel different things”, too many gay-4-payers (and straight-4-payers), too many people that experimented once upon a time, too many people with attraction to children or young teens, too many people looking for attention or looking to have an edgy or enigmatic image. The word has lost most of practical purpose. While terms like “fluid” and “queer” are even more vague identities that are often used for the same reasons.
Loki
@Donston
I have always felt that terms like homosexual, heterosexual, and bisexual are best used to describe behaviors not people. Your self-appellation of “homo-dominant” is interesting. Coming from a science background (microbiology, to be specific), I find the terms “obligate” and “facultative” to be a useful way of understanding this issue of tendencies and sexual histories. Cats are said to be obligate carnivores in that they must eat meat for their survival; they are strict meat-eaters. Dogs are facultative carnivores – meaning they are true carnivores, but they need not depend solely on animal matter to meet all of their nutritional needs. They can survive on other sources of food, such as plants or insects, for a time or as a supplement when meat is scarce.
So, to my thinking, you’re a GAY man, but you’re also a facultative homosexual. I am a GAY man, but an obligate homosexual. A str8 man who’s doing a thirty year bid in the pen and gets himself a prag to satisfy his sexual needs is still a straight man, but a facultative heterosexual. Labeling such a man as bisexual wouldn’t make sense – it only describes his behavior under a very specific set of circumstances. He would probably reject the label and once out of prison he would outward appear and behave no different from any other str8 man. Facultative or obligate might be a mouthful, but I believe a more accurate way of describing or conveying behavior/sexual history.
Donston
Sorry for the length of this post.
I get where you’re coming from. But while your terminology has purpose it also confuses sexual attraction with sexual desires. Some people develop a desire for a gender they have very little to no attraction to, often initiated by ego/narcissism or fetish or sociology. I do get where you’re coming from though. I think breaking down orientation into four categories: types and degrees of sexual attractions, your passions, your romantic instincts and your “lifestyle”- that’s the most thorough and accurate way of truly letting people know who you are if you’re interested in letting people know who you are.
I can have some instinctual sexual attraction to and can be aroused by women to some degree, and I used to get enjoyment out of the sex and relationships I had with women. But the attraction isn’t sustainable or substantial compared to men. The passion is minimal compared to men. My romantic instincts lie with men. And my ego allows me to be perfectly comfortable being with a man and living a “gay lifestyle”. My attractions and passions are greatly with men. My desires and romantic instincts are entirely with men. So, I do feel “gay” or “homo” is a better representation of myself than flat-out “bi”.
Because so many people use behavior and vague identities to manipulate people (and sometimes themselves), use behavior to indulge very specific fetishes or to indulge their ego or indulge convenience or for money/opportunity, because only a tiny percentage of men actually have real and substantial sexual attraction to men and women, have sexual passions for men and women, and have the ability to truly love and commit themselves to someone outside of one gender- “bisexual” doesn’t work as an identity for most from a sociological and practical standpoint. This is why the terminology needs to evolve and become more specific (instead, it’s de-volving and becoming more vague). It’s why I don’t mind terms like “homo-dominant”, “hetero-flexible”, “gay-leaning queer-sexual”, etc. They aren’t perfect, but they at least involve people being more willing to divulge the make-up of themselves and what motivates their behavior. And they’re more socially practical.
People whose attractions, passions, romantic instincts, ego and lifestyle all align in a specific direction are typically able to be more direct and detailed about who they are and what motivates them. When there are contradictions among those five things (or when you’re an entertainer looking to be seen a certain type of way or get a certain type of attention) people tend to be more evasive and/or hide behind vague “labels” and give vague explanations for identifying as such identities.
Kenney G
I’m waiting to see him date a woman, Men or only bisexual when they are dating another man. Let the girls have them , Too bad it won’t be the straight women.
kansasteddybear
well, at least the article was half right!
Jaxton
Newman makes an interesting point about how people love to categorize same-sex attracted men as “gay” even if they don’t choose to identify as gay.
He might fantasize or date women more than men but people love to refer to him as gay. It reflects people’s inability to accept the power of male sexuality.
inbama
“The power of male sexuality..”
A perfect example of sexist bi-narcissism that makes the rest of the world laugh at “biphobia.”
When you announce to the world that you are in a same-sex relationship, whether you are bi, pan or hetero, you are in a homosexual relationship.
If you are fired from your Catholic school teaching job for marrying your boyfriend, it’s not because of the Church’s anti-gay position and not because you are bisexual.
If you and your boyfriend are surrounded by an armed gang for holding hands in public,
that secret craving for vagina will not save you.
Don’t get me wrong – bisexuality like all sexual orientations is real and a physical trait. Your attraction to men, women, and/or or both together is measurable.
If you live one way and identify as another, you can’t blame the world for responding with “sure.”
tham
As they say “You can build a 1,000 bridges and never be called an engineer, you can bake a 1,000 cakes and never be called a baker, but if you suck one dick…you’re gay for the rest of your life.”
frankcar1965
Hmmmm….kinda a SLIGHTY different thing if you think about it, engineer, baker, dick sucker.
dash_board1
I don’t watch the show, is this guy a major character or is he just another guy coming out as bi for publicity? I’m looking at you Aaron Carter.
alfred
no, he isnt a big part of the show. I wont comment on his label. But it is a little disingenuous of him to blame the media as in his initial ‘coming’ out he didnt actually specify being bisexual or gay. It was vague.
Loki
I’m a religious viewer of TWD, and I can only recall him speaking once. He’s basically one notch above an extra. It’s amazing that he’s been able to milk all this attention from that small role.
Donston
Weren’t you completely defending and supporting Aaron once upon a time? Even after the more he kept talking and doing the more he seemed full of sh*t and driven by publicity and maybe crazy? Or maybe I confused you with another poster.
I watch TWD as well (I borderline hate the show at this point, but my husband is still a fan), and it’s a nothing role.
dash_board1
@Donston, if you are addressing me, no, I thought it was a publicity stunt.
Donston
My bad dash.
DCguy
SO the reporter said “You’re gay” and he didn’t correct her and now he’s bitching?
Here’s a thought, if you don’t want somebody to print something incorrectly correcting them before the article comes out is a good idea.
More likely his work is drying up because of Hollywood bigots, and instead of calling them out he’s attacking some reporter who wrote exactly what he told her at the time.
The one thing lgbt should learn though is, if you’re Bisexual, great, but if you’re gay, lying and claiming you are bi doesn’t make you “Less Gay” to bigots unless you are a woman dating a guy. In a bigots mind bisexuals, transgenders, and everything else are all just listed as that one category of “Things we hate”.
Luvstoread
I’m confused. Do people define gay by emotion or sexual attraction? Isn’t it both? Most gay men have their fruit flies or to use the old derogatory term fag hags. I feel the emotional connection, but I’m not attracted to them sexually. If you prescribe to the act; are all gay for pay actors “gay”? I’m curious how others feel about it.
Jaxton
“Gay” is an invented word. As such, it lacks a precise meaning.
When people invent words, a precise definition is impossible.
dash_board1
@Jaxton, every word in existence is an invented word.
@Luvstoread, sexual orientation is about your sexual attraction. Only attracted to the same gender = homosexual. Only attracted to the opposite gender = heterosexual. Attracted to both men and women (regardless of preference) = bisexual. People seem intent on making it more complicated than it is.
kent25
There’s no such thing as gay for pay, the moment to have sex with another man you stop being straight. lol
kent25
wow! Bisexuals have it so hard, they are always being erased or victim of bipobia, if they date a woman they are being erased because they still like men and vice versa. Too much baggage for me, We can be friends and that’s about it . what to they need to be happy being in a Threesome?
i’m Gay 24/7 they only thing you will find in my bed is a man, I don’t need a man who want to screw a woman every now and then. They women can have him with my blessing
Kenney G
Don’t worry Daniel, I’m sure gay men aren’t wacking off every time they you.
you’re safe. there are plenty of gay men for other gay men to date
Kenney G
I hope his boyfriend is bisexual or at least a Trans man or pansexual.
these people are the demons of the LGBTQ community, outcast
Kenney G
Your sexuality Daniel, I’m not a fan of boys who swing both ways . You stay on your side of the fence and we will stay on ours
kent25
I like Hollywood just Find Mr. Newman. Every story about gay people don’t include Bisexuals. Personally I don’t know any out bisexuals. I don’t know any men who date both men and women, so I guess they are all passing as straight. Nothing sadder than dating some guy who feels he always have to mention don’t forget I like girls to, lol Well take your ass over to the straight bar and date a girl