One Year Later, Gay Teen Reflects On Family’s Horrifyingly Violent Reaction To Coming Out
One year after a disturbing video documenting a family’s reaction to a gay man’s coming out went viral, the victim on the receiving end of this hate is reflecting on the experience.
In September 2014, then 20-year-old Daniel Pierce posted a video on YouTube that showed a violent and upsetting five minutes in which Pierce’s family disowned their child and told him that sexuality is a choice, using religion as an argument. It took place in Georgia during what Pierce described as a “delayed intervention” involving his father, stepmother and grandparents.
A local news outlet in Atlanta caught up with the now 21-year-old Pierce last week to discuss the aftermath of the horrifying video and how his life has changed since the incident.
“I feel like I’m talking about someone else,” Pierce said about the coming out experience. “I feel like I saw this on the news about someone else.”
In the weeks after the video went viral, Pierce’s boyfriend set up a GoFundMe page for Pierce that raised almost $100,000. According to his interview with WXIA Atlanta, the money went towards Pierce’s medical expenses after his family cut off his access to insurance, and served as donations to Lost-n-Found Youth, a shelter for homeless queer youth, which has, according to Pierce, reportedly seen an influx of kids needing assistance over the past year.
“We got a huge wave of kids [using the shelter] because gay marriage got passed, and they had the guts to come out,” Pierce continued. “They told their family. That night I lost five family members. I gained hundreds of thousands of people that are just like ’We love you.’ People I will never meet.”
Did you miss the original video documenting Pierce’s coming out? You can check it out below but be warned that it contains graphic language and may be disturbing.
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15 Comments
Max
October 13, 06:41Wow, just wow.
ken
October 13, 06:46Coming out in Naija is next to impossible. Theres no GoFundMe or gay shelter. For teens, if your parents cut u off, its goodbye!
Mandy
October 13, 07:13His life got turned around and acquired meaning after he decided to remain true to himself against all odds.
Very inspirational.
Why, Dear God, can’t this be the narrative for gay ,men in Nigeria? You come out, there’s a little bit of darkness, and then light comes on at the end of the tunnel, hmm?
Dennis Macaulay
October 13, 07:20For naija? Dem go beat you enter ground first and then bind your hands and carry you to church lol.
On a serious note, do not come out in Nigeria until you are independent. If I get disowned now, who loose?
Wiffey
October 13, 07:36Oh please #No_Coming_Out_In_Niaja says who Keanu… Just because you don’t have the balls to do it doesn’t mean people don’t do it everyday and who said every parent is just waiting to beat, disown or kick their gay children out of the house??? That’s such a cliche if you ask me
Pink Panther
October 13, 07:37Preach, wiffey! 😀
Dennis Macaulay
October 13, 07:42Satire darling
Satire
Max
October 13, 08:00You’re fast becoming the priestess of doom around here @Dennis.
Colossus
October 13, 08:52Things are changing, maybe not fast enough but they are. I’m beginning to see one or two parents who are more tolerant and hopefully it would transcend to the kids.
Uziel
October 13, 09:44I’ve not met parents that are arranging dates for their queer children and getting them lube and condoms. But I’ve seen moms that have come to accept their son’s sexuality one way or another. I’ve seen a mother who’s rather fond of her son’s boyfriend. Things are changing outside. They should also start changing within us. Hollywood isn’t going to do all the work for us.
Sinnex
October 13, 09:46So they haven’t come around yet?
How sad!!!
Delle
October 13, 10:29And here I was thinking all American parents are so accepting towards this. Oh well
As for Nigeria, I really don’t believe its a ‘hell-to-the-no’ situation in the ‘coming out’ issue. Afterall, a friend (actually two friends) of mine have come out to their parents. You know what beats me is this, Nigerian parents after all their religious fanaticism can’t actually afford to disown a child like a repelling American parent would. They can o…but they find it more difficult than their American counterparts. The Nigerian ones are just capitalising on our FEAR of coming out, ‘After everything he is doing, he must still bring that girl home na. Shebi he has not said anything, he must still marry a woman….otan!’ And that’s just the typical Nigerian parent. Its not like they would be worse or anything, but do ‘we’ (the victims…lol) have the liver to come out to them?
That’s the million dollar question *drops phone and starts pondering*
Jamie
October 13, 17:56Ya, I agree. Coming out to some parents may not be the problem…they could be very happy to know!!
Problem is, almost, if not all of them would CONTROL your life afterwards so much!!!
iamcoy
October 13, 12:11Oh boy that slap enter oh! Goddamint!!
Tobby
October 13, 14:38She went from “I love you” to “piece of shit” real quick