Empire's star, Jussie Smollett, has decided to open up and answer questions about his sexuality. In a recent interview, he explained how for him, being gay is not so black and white and shouldn't require those who have found love to put a label on themselves. But, if he had to, he would simply describe himself as "a gay man with an extremely open heart."
During an exclusive interview with Out Magazine, the FOX Wednesday night star opened up about his sexuality and how his character, Jamal, provided the comfortable platform that he was looking for to share with the world that he was in fact, gay. As told in the interview, Smollet's co-star, Taraji P Henson, provided him with words of encouragement and support that he never forgot and that made him love her even more.
"She said, 'Who gives a f-ck? I don't tell these motherf-ckers that I'm straight'," recalled Smollett of his conversation with Henson. "'Why the f-ck do you have to tell them that you're gay?' That was so O.G., and it just made me love her even more." he continued.
Between Henson's words; working closely with Lee Daniels -- the co-creator of the show and an openly gay man -- and actually playing the role of a gay character in the music industry, Smollet began to feel a little more at ease about who he was and decided to share that with the world. That moment came for him during a guest appearance on the Ellen DeGeneres Show, backstage in the green room where DeGeneres spoke about him coming out of the closet and Smollett responded, "there's never been a closet that I've been in," according to Out.
During that interview, 32-year-old Smollett also spoke on whether or not he could be with a woman. According to EUR, the "You're So Beautiful" singer stated, "If I fall in love down the road with a woman, I'm going to love that woman." His sentiments stem from what he believes is the only thing that matters when comes to relationships, and that's love. "I believe that love is the only thing that matters, and I would hope that anybody would leave themselves open - not to gender, but to love," explained Smollett during his Out interview, EUR reported.
When attempting to find the words to describe himself, Smollett clarified that yes, he is a gay man but, he has an extremely open heart. He explains how finding someone that sweeps you off of your feet and you love that person is the only thing that matters. "You're not going to tell me that loving someone is wrong," concluded Smollett.
