Let us be clear, before we go into anything else, that we know Ricky Martin to be a man of love and compassion for ALL today.
But back in the day, when he hadn’t fully dealt with his own feelings, the now openly gay singer has admitted that he would target his anger toward others, specifically — gay people.
He makes his confession in Australian GQ, saying:
“I was very angry, very rebellious. I used to look at gay men and think, ‘I’m not like that, I don’t want to be like that, that’s not me.’ I was ashamed. When you’re told you’re wrong by everyone, from society, from your faith – my self-esteem was crushed. I took my anger out on those around me. I look back now and realize I would bully people who I knew were gay. I had internalized homophobia. To realize that was confronting to me. I wanted to get away from that.”
Ricky officially came out in 2010 and has since been a strong advocate for LGBT rights all around the world.
Though it saddens us to know Ricky once felt so much shame that he had to lash out at others, this is a clear example of why society needs to open their arms and minds more so we can all combat such programming.
We love you, Ricky, and we’re so proud of how far you’ve come!
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