Donald Glover revealed in a recent interview that he’s struggled to define and come to terms with his sexuality.
“There is security to being identified,” Glover said while speaking to “Chewing Gum” and “I May Destroy You” creator Michaela Coel for British GQ. “‘I’m a straight white male’ or ‘I’m a gay Asian dancer’ — you can find community easily and safely.”
Glover told Coel in a Zoom-held conversation that he was unsure of his sexual preferences when he was younger.
“Most of my college years were me being like, ‘I don’t know what I like,'” he said. “I had friends who asked, ‘Are you gay.’ And I’d be like, ‘I sort of feel like I am because I love this community.'”
“I always was trying to figure out, ‘Am I weird for not wanting to label it?'” the “Atlanta” star said of his sexuality. “Yet, also, I never felt completely safe in just one place.”
According to Glover, one of the main reasons why he felt unsafe was due to experiences with racism growing up, including a time when one of his white friends used the n-word in front of him.
“It was really intense,” Glover said of that experience. “But I was in high school, so I didn’t really have the emotional tools to really be like, ‘Oh, I understand,’ because I had no experience.”
Coel also opened up about her experiences with racism and microagressions. The actress gave one example that made her uneasy: when some of her non-Black friends discuss how much they love Black men.
“Whenever I hear it, my brain starts thinking, ‘You’ve grouped a whole people and you’ve made a decision on them. Can’t you just ‘love’ that Black guy at the bar? Why can’t you like whatever his name is? Why come with the whole group thing?'” Coel told Glover.
According to the “I May Destroy You” creator, despite the problematic tendencies of her white friends, Coel is also able to appreciate her friends’ other qualities. Glover agreed.
“It is OK. That’s what a lot of people don’t realize. It’s gonna be OK. Good can come from bad and bad from good,” he said. “Life is not ‘The Avengers.’ It isn’t good versus evil. It’s all together and we’re still figuring it out.”