YouTube star Joey Graceffa opened up about his decision to come out publicly as gay, telling GLAAD in a new interview that he wanted fans who may be struggling with their own sexuality "to not feel so alone."
"Originally I needed something to encompass [my new book, In Real Life: My Journey Through a Pixelated World] in a video format," Graceffa told GLAAD's Claire Pires of "Don't Wait," the fairy tale-themed music video released in May, in which the 24-year-old addressed his sexuality for the first time. "So I thought it would be really cool to incorporate three main things in the music video: bullying, dealing with [my mother’s] alcoholism, coming to terms with your sexuality and accepting yourself."
It turned out to be a winning approach. One month after it was posted, the "Don't Wait" video has drawn over 8 million views.
Coming out, Graceffa added, put "an army" of speculation to rest, but it was far from the most difficult subject he delved into for the book.
"Talking about my history with my mom and her alcoholism was definitely really tough," he said, "but also talking about my first dating experiences and getting my heart broken and re-living those moments...I guess I just have this thing of just pushing things aside in the back of my mind. Writing this, I had to go back through it all."
In Real Life: My Journey Through a Pixelated World hit shelves on May 19.
