Joey Graceffa has just revealed his entire coming out story for a very worthy cause. The YouTube star teamed with non-profit organization The Ad Council as part of its Creators for Good project to create an exclusive coming out explanation video in support of the Love Has No Labels campaign.
The Ad Council’s Creators for Good initiative, which launched in April 2015, seeks to team up with YouTube celebrities to inspire positive change by creating original content about a social issue important to each creator. Graceffa originally came out via a music video in May 2015. The vlogger’s new video covers his coming out story, and promotes the Ad Council’s Love Has No Labels message, which a release says is to “rethink your bias.”
Over the course of almost 19 minutes, Graceffa tells his story straight to the camera in a candid, no jump-cuts video. The successful book author explains how he grew up thinking being gay was something disgusting, but how he felt attracted to both men and women. Graceffa says he first came out as bisexual to one of his best female friends, and only later realized he was gay before telling his sister and then his parents. Graceffa concludes the video by saying, “I’m just so happy to be a part of a time where we all embrace diversity.”
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“Now that I’ve come out to my audience, I want to use my platform to help those struggling to come to terms with their sexuality or other aspects of their lives,” said Graceffa, who boasts 5.2 million subscribers and more than 607 million video views on his channel. “I realized how much other people’s beliefs had held me back, and I want to let my audiences know that it’s okay to be who we are and embrace each other’s differences.” And that honest and empathetic statement couldn’t have come at a better time in the calendar year, as National Coming Out Day is just around the corner on October 11.
Graceffa isn’t the only YouTube creator working with The Ad Council on its Creators for Good initiative. In July 2015, beauty and lifestyle vlogger Meghan Rienks released a video to raise awareness for dating violence. The Ad Council is also working with other digital stars like Grace Helbig and Justine Ezarik (aka iJustine) on other video messages.
You can learn more about Love Has No Labels on the campaign’s official site. You can also check out more of the Ad Council’s projects at adcouncil.org.
