In 2012, former Carnegie Mellon University graduate Matt Bomer came out of the closet. The actor, best known for his role on the television show White Collar, and his turn as a male stripper in Magic Mike, has become
an advocate for HIV/AIDS and a proponent of LGBT rights.
On February 11, 2012, while giving an acceptance speech for the New Generation Arts and Activism Award for his work in the fight against HIV/AIDS at the Steve Chase Humanitarian Awards, Bomer publicly
acknowledged for the first time that he is in a romantic relationship with Hollywood publicist Simon Halls. Bomer’s homosexuality hadpreviously been considered an “open secret” in Hollywood, and he had refused to comment one way or the other about his relationship or orientation.
Bomer once said, “What we really have to do is stop the adjective before the job title – whether it’s ‘black actor,’ a ‘gay actor’ or ‘anything actor.’ Everybody thinks that equality comes from identifying people and that’s not
where equality comes from. Equality comes from treating everyone the same regardless of who they are.”
Earlier this year, when Wentworth Miller came out in protest to Russia’s intolerance of LGBT rights and the anti-gay laws that had been enacted in that country, Bomer said, “Wow, I think it’s really bold and incredibly classy
how he came out and did it,” he said. “I am really proud of him. It’s very reflective of his amazing character.” Bomer added that there is still “a long way to go” when it comes to tolerance in America.
Until that day, we have to celebrate every celebrity who comes out.