Karan Brar Comes Out as Bisexual in Emotional Essay

Disney child star Karan Brar opened up about his personal life regarding his sexuality and mental health.

Brar, who got his start in acting in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid and went on to have his biggest roles in Jessie and Bunk’d, revealed his struggles as he described balancing his life through “public Karan” and private Karan” and how those two identities, which were vastly different from each other, severely decreased his mental health. “I pushed myself until the cracks started to form,” he explains.

All of these events eventually led him to come out to his friends and roommates Cameron Boyce and Sophie Reynolds. As he said the words, which he says came out without his control, he describes “regretting it” and “offering to move out” and hide his bisexuality from them.

After this emotional revelation to his friends, he recalls the moment they hugged him and gave him support. Brar explains that they weren’t shocked at his sexuality, but rather the mindset that he thought would make them react negatively.

Brar struggled with internalized homophobia and grief as his friend and co-star, Jessie actor Cameron Boyce, sadly passed away after an epileptic seizure. This lead him to seek help for his PTSD and major depressive disorder.

Being in the public eye and having all this immense pressure to be perfect, it makes sense for something such as coming out of the closet to be a hard secret to carry around. Brar deserves a lot of respect for his bravery in sharing his story, as it opens the book to how being in the public eye can be unsafe and scary.

Mental health is a serious issue, and many seem to forget that celebrities, especially those as well know as Brar, often struggle with being authentic in the public eye because of constant judgement from others.

Photos courtesy of Karan Brar