A former Democratic Party gubernatorial candidate in Florida, Andrew Gillum, has revealed in an interview with journalist Tamron Hall that he identifies as bisexual and it’s something he has “never shared publicly before”.
On Hall’s eponymous talk show episode broadcast on Monday, Gillum explained that this revelation was because “[A]t this stage, I don’t have anything else to have to conceal.”
Questions were asked when an inebriated and poorly-clothed Gillum was found together with another man at the Mondrian South Beach Hotel. Gillum had been vomiting in the bathroom when police were called on to the scene that also featured three packets of crystal meth on the floor.
Gillum told Hall: “To be very honest with you, when you didn’t ask the question [about my sexuality], you put it out there is [sic] whether or not I identify as gay. And the answer is I don’t identify as gay, but I do identify as bisexual, and that is something that I have never shared publicly before.”
Throughout the interview, the former candidate who was also a mayor of Tallahassee seemed candid and emotional.
“Everyone believes the absolute worst about that day. At this stage, I don’t have anything else to have to conceal,” Gillum said in the interview. “I literally got broken down to my most bare place, to the place where I wasn’t even sure that I wanted to live. Not because of what I had done but because of everything that was being said about me,” he added.
Gillum checked into rehab for alcohol abuse after the incident in March. He said in a statement that he had arrived at the decision after “conversation with my family and deep reflection”.
Gillum’s personality in 2018 drew parallels with former US President Barack Obama. Beyond their personalities, Gillum, just like Obama for America, ran in Florida as a progressive with refreshing ideas for an electorate who were skeptical of the future.
In the end, Gillum lost by a close shave, a percentage margin of 0.4. But pundits and the Democratic believed the story had only begun for a young bright star.
