FUSE TV - Future LGBTQ History Month: Colton Haynes Leads With Love

Fuse is celebrating Pride Month by looking at a variety of rising forces who are creating Future LGBTQ History before our eyes. Today we're honoring Colton Haynes, the Arrow and Teen Wolf actor who recently publicly joined the gay community, opening up a number of important conversations.

At the top of 2016, Haynes posted a vague response to a fan's comment about the TV and movie actor's "gay past," which many took as his official coming out. The 28-year-old didn't make an official statement on the matter until five months later in an Entertainment Weekly spread, confirming his sexuality. What was powerful about both these statements is that Haynes made them completely on his own accord and swerved away from the idea that coming out needs to be a big, controversial reveal, instead presenting his moment as part of his personal process for the 

While certain people took issue with Haynes' choices—namely, The Real O'Neals star Noah Galvin deeming Colton's choices as "pussy bullshit" in a controversial piece with New York magazine—it brought to light an ugly side of the gay community, which can be harshest on its own members. There is still judgement on even the toughest aspects of what every LGBTQ person goes through; something that should bring us together, not divide us. Haynes was not innocent in his judging either, saying, "Since when is a three pg article in Entertainment Weekly not an appropriate way to come out?" seemingly saying that coming out in a magazine is more than sufficient when we should not need such qualifiers in something so personal.