Crumbl CEO Sawyer Hemsley came out of the closet in a recent social media post. But likely not the way he wanted to.
"Over the past few years I’ve come to understand and accept that I’m gay," he wrote on Instagram Aug. 26. "It’s taken me a long time to really process this part of myself and even longer to feel comfortable enough to say it out loud. For most of my life, I didn’t have the clarity to answer the questions or respond to the rumors."
The rumors Hemsley alluded to seem to include influencer Grant Gibbs' Aug. 22 TikTok video, where he speculated about the CEO's sexuality. "I quite literally have never seen a gayer man," he wrote in the post's caption. The video has racked up more than 18.8 million views. Commenters piled on: "I just checked the 'crumbl cookie ceo' after seeing him for 2 seconds I already knew." "I’ve never had my gaydar go off so fast." Gibbs has since (half-jokingly) apologized to Hemsley in a follow-up video.
Celebrities and public figures regularly face speculation about their sexuality: Shawn Mendes, Kit Connor, Khalid to name a few. But should they, especially when they're still figuring it out? And do they need to say anything about it either way?
The short answer: No. Because the consequences, especially if someone is pushed out of the closet, could be dire, mental health experts say. Take one spin through social media or Google anti-LGBTQ+ legislation in the U.S. and see why.
