Forcing Someone To Come Out Can Be Dangerous, Says Megan Barnard

starobserver.com.au:

Fox Sports reporter Megan Barnard, who was dramatically outed by a former colleague, has spoken out about the incident and how it impacted her life in a revealing new interview.Speaking with Stellar, Barnard, 37, said,“No one should ever be forced to come out before they’re ready, it can be dangerous.”Barnard was relating her personal experience of being outed by her former colleague, AFL journalist Tom Morris, who made disparaging remarks about Bernard’s sexuality in an audio clip posted to a WhatsApp group chat.

The leaked audio was made public in March, and outed Barnard, who prior to the leak was not public with being gay.Barnard, who has been a sports presenter for Fox Sports since 2013, told Stellar, “People have messaged to share their stories, struggles and fears of coming out — and of being outed.”“I have tried to respond to everyone that has contacted me.

If this resonates with just one person and makes them realise it’s OK to be gay, that it’s not something to hide or run from then sitting down for this article has been worth it,” Barnard said.“I knew I was gay from the age of 12… It was such a painful time during my teens, feeling what I was feeling and desperately wanting those thoughts to go away and to be like everyone else,” Barnard said.“I tried to fight it for years because we had all been taught that being gay ‘wasn’t normal.

It was just so overwhelming, it was the elephant in the room. There were times [when] I thought I just didn’t want to exist, it was that hard.”“It took me more than a decade to come out, and I’m just grateful I hung in there and didn’t fall off the edge,” said Barnard in the emotional interview.In a widely praised Instagram post, Barnard spoke of the incident, saying, “I am.