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‘Pretty Little Liars’ star Tyler Blackburn comes out as bisexual: ‘I felt the pressure from all sides’
By Lindsey Kupfer, Lindsey Kupfer
Published April 19, 2019
“Pretty Little Liars” actor Tyler Blackburn is opening up about his sexuality.
“I’m queer,” the 32-year-old revealed to The Advocate magazine. “I’ve identified as bisexual since a teenager. I just want to feel powerful in my own skin, and my own mind, and in my own heart.”
Blackburn continued, “I heard so many things from within the queer community about bisexuality being a cop-out or bullshit or the easy way out or something, and that always stuck with me because I felt the pressure from all sides to have [my sexuality] figured out and I think for the longest time, I suppressed more of my attraction to men. It wasn’t until my late 20s, towards the end of ‘Pretty Little Liars,’ that I really allowed myself to go there and not just wonder about it or lust over it, but experience that vulnerability and experience the emotional aspect of what it is to be bisexual.”
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LOS ANGELES, CA - JANUARY 26: Tyler Blackburn attends the Entertainment Weekly Pre-SAG Party Arrivals at Chateau Marmont on January 26, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by David Crotty/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images) (Getty)
On his current show, “Roswell, New Mexico,” a CW reboot of the late ’90s show, Blackburn plays Alex Manes, a gay war veteran and amputee.
“I knew this guy in and out,” he told the magazine. “I understood feeling oppressed. I understood having issues with my father [wanting to feel] accepted by him. I understood wanting something but being afraid to have it. I understood self-doubt.”
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The actor said he’s tired of caring what people think.
“I just want to live my truth and feel OK with experiencing love and experiencing self-love,” he said, adding, “Yes, there is an element of, I want to feel like it’s OK to hold my boyfriend’s hand as I’m walking down the street, and not worry. Is someone going to look and be like, ‘Whoa, is that guy from that show? I didn’t know that [he was queer.]’ I want to own my space now.”
This article originally appeared in Page Six.
https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/pretty-little-liars-tyler-blackburn-comes-out-as-bisexual