YouTube personality Tyler Oakley said
last week that singer Ricky Martin told him that he had helped him
come out.
The 26-year-old Oakley is currently
promoting Snervous, the documentary which follows him through
his sold out “Slumber Party” tour (now available on iTunes).
“In 2011, I believe, it was National
Coming Out Day,” Oakley
said during an appearance on HuffPost Live. “[A]nd I woke up
one morning [and] I saw a tweet from Ricky Martin. He tweeted me and
said, 'This video helped me make a very important decision in my
life. Happy National Coming Out Day.' And there was a link to my
video about how to come out and how it's important to come out and to
do it on your own terms and things like that.”
“And I was just blown away because to
me, I was just making videos… but there was a moment when it kind
of clicked for me that you never know who is watching and you never
know who you can impact and you never know the ripple effect that can
happen, just by being yourself,” he said.
Oakley also discussed his father's
opposition to his sexual orientation. Oakley's conservative father
at first wanted his son to attempt so-called conversion therapy,
which attempts to alter a person's sexuality from gay to straight.
“No matter how important society
deems your relationship with a person, no matter who they are –
mom, dad, whatever – nobody has the right to denounce you for who
you are. I feel like it's hard because people are like, 'But [he's]
your dad. You should respect [his] opinion.' And I'm like, 'No,'”
Oakley said.