Actor Thomas Dekker, who is best known for his role in "Heroes", has come out as gay.
The actor revealed his sexuality in a lengthy essay he shared on his Twitter account on Thursday, reports aceshowbiz.com.
The 29-year-old actor said in the statement that he decided to come out after a fellow gay man allegedly tried to out him at an award event.
"My sexual orientation once again came into question this week when a prominent gay man used an awards acceptance speech to 'out' me. While he did not mention me by name, the explicit details of his reference made it easy for the public and media to connect the dots," Dekker wrote.
It was believed that the actor was referring to "Heroes" co-executive producer and writer Bryan Fuller, who accepted the Outfest Achievement Award on July 6.
In his acceptance speech, a portal shared a story about how he tried to introduce gay characters on the NBC show.
"The actor's management threatened to pull him from the show if he -- the character, not the actor -- were gay. The character became straight and the actor came out as gay, " Fuller said at that time.
Dekker, however, said that he was thankful to him.
"It presents a prime opportunity for me to publicly say that I am indeed a man who proudly loves other men," he continued saying.
In addition to coming out, the "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles" actor said that he and his now-husband married in April and he "could not be happier."
"I have never lied to the press about the fluidity of my sexuality but this man claiming that I came out is not true. Because I have not 'officially' until this moment. I simply refuse to be robbed of the glorious joy that belongs to me. To say the words myself. 'I'm gay'. Those words are a badge of honour that no one can steal," he added.
He continued: "Sexuality and who you love is a deeply personal and complicated thing. For some of us, it takes to cultivate, discover and conclude. It is not something anyone should ever be ashamed of and certainly not something anyone should be rushed into."
"It is a brave, powerful and important thing to do but it is also a deeply personal decision. One that should only be made when you are ready," he said, before concluding his message, "I embrace you, any of you, with open arms, kindness, faith and patience. For all of you who have supported me, before and now, I thank you from the bottom of my fledgling heart. Be proud of who you are. No matter how long it takes."
--IANS
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