Danny Amendola Quotes

For me, being out within my life became far more important than being in any movie.

I want to be affirmatively proud of what I have made my way through. And to do that, in the same way I had to tell my father and my family and my friends that I was gay, I need to not hide this anymore.

I'm not gonna apologize for who I am and what I've gone through.

I'm actually sort of shocked that I was able to get a medal in 2014 and really have any of the success I had before because as soon as I came out, it was like a whole new world for me, and I felt so free, so confident, that it's actually shocking that I was able to compete any other way.

Personally speaking, growing up as a gay man before it was as socially acceptable as it is now, I knew what it was to feel different, to feel alienated and to feel not like everyone else. But the very same thing that made me monstrous to some people also empowered me and made me who I was.

I came out around 25 publicly.

I am proud of who I am, and nobody's going to steal that.

I have never been outed by anyone but myself!

Never categorize yourself, society does that to you, don't do it to yourself.

I don't feel closeted.

I can safely say that I had an incredibly difficult and trying past growing up and trying to be an artist and standing up as who I am in this world.

Coming out was painful, but life got so much better for me.

I watched a million coming-out videos, and that was kind of how I accepted it myself.

After coming out as gay, I soon felt a lot more comfortable in my life, moment to moment.

I think also there was a lot of coming to terms with where I am in life, where I fit in as a gay man in America, and getting more comfortable with who I am.

I'm proud of my sexuality.

I think one's sexuality can be the center of life, and coming out and discovering your sexuality is something that really can define your existence.

You have to be proud of who you are.

I am not struggling. What I do, it is what I do.

I realize it's a cliche, almost, that coming out of the closet is a very healthy and empowering thing to do, but for me, it really has been a truly wonderful thing.

For me, embracing my own power is about embracing my right to be an individual.

I was a slightly overweight, spiky-fringed, rat's-tailed '80s girl who was just showing up. That's all I've ever really done to get here, just kept showing up. Even when I didn't want to. That's what I do.

Coming out, for me, was slightly painful. It was a relief, but it was also painful.

I would say, if you come out, they can't take away how you play football. That was the thing for me: once I did come out, it's not going to affect my diving. I can still perform, no matter what anybody else thinks of me. I'm judged for what I do in the diving pool.

I realize that everyone has their own road to travel in making this decision about when it's right to come out. I know that in my case, the worst fears never materialized. All in all, professionally, I know the work I do here every day is better because I'm honest about who I am.