Actor Rick Cosnett of ‘The Flash’ Comes Out Publicly: ‘Most of You Probably Knew Anyway’ (WATCH)

Actor Rick Cosnett of The Flash and The Vampire Diaries came out publicly as gay in video posted to Instagram on Thursday.

“Hi everyone … dramatic pause … I’m gay,” Cosnett says in the video.

“I just wanted everyone to know, because I’ve made a promise to myself to live my truth every day, and sometimes that is a really hard thing to do, when you have all these subconscious things you don’t even know about from childhood, and from society, and from just life,” he adds. “I’m sure most of you probably knew anyway. And yeah, that’s actually all I wanted to say. I also have a stye on my eye, which really adds to the drama of the whole thing.”

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Hello

A post shared by Rick Cosnett (@rickcosnett) on Feb 13, 2020 at 3:24pm PST

Cosnett, who is from Zimbabwe, played Eddie Thawne in The Flash, Wes Maxfield in The Vampire Diaries, and Elias Harper in Quantico. He is a cousin of Hugh Grant.

In a post earlier this week, Cosnett posed in a flowing gown and thanked friends for “helping me find and experiment with my self expression.”

“Feels good, and terrifying,” he wrote.

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#MotivationMonday Thanks @alexandrafuller___ and @meganeatongriswold for helping me find and experiment with my self expression. Feels good, and terrifying. And thanks @embethdavidtz “Great lions can find peace in a cage. But we should only do that As a last resort. So those bars I see that restrain your wings, I guess you won’t mind if I pry them open.” ~ Rumi

A post shared by Rick Cosnett (@rickcosnett) on Feb 10, 2020 at 1:01pm PST

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Why’s it taken me so long to wear this top?

A post shared by Rick Cosnett (@rickcosnett) on Feb 8, 2020 at 2:16pm PST

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A moment between shows; a little fun in the sun not being so angry @thelagunaplayhouse @thejohnmassey #12angrymen

A post shared by Rick Cosnett (@rickcosnett) on Oct 20, 2017 at 11:21am PDT

The post Actor Rick Cosnett of ‘The Flash’ Comes Out Publicly: ‘Most of You Probably Knew Anyway’ (WATCH) appeared first on Towleroad Gay News.

Actor Rick Cosnett of ‘The Flash’ Comes Out Publicly: ‘Most of You Probably Knew Anyway’ (WATCH)

University of Louisville Reverses Course, Bars Student from Distributing Anti-Gay Literature in LGBT Studies Class

The University of Louisville has reversed course and issued a restraining order against a student who distributed anti-gay literature (above) in an LGBT studies class last month.

University administrators initially said the student could return to the class as long as he provided 48 hours notice, prompting outrage among campus LGBTQ advocates and students who said they felt unsafe.

The Courier Journal reports that the university has now issued a non-contact order to the student.

“University spokesman John Karman confirmed the order to The Courier Journal Thursday evening,” the newspaper reported. “He wasn’t able to confirm how long the order will be in effect. A no-contact order is a restraining order that means a person has been instructed to not have any contact or communication with another person.”

Professor Ricky Jones, who chairs the university’s Pan-African studies department and helped lead the push for administrators to take further action, announced the decision on Twitter.

“This is all we wanted,” Jones wrote.

The incident occurred in a class taught by pioneering black lesbian professor Kaila Story, who reported it to the administration. In a subsequent meeting with Story and her class, university President Neeli Bendapudi agreed to provide additional security, but said administrators’ hands were tied because the student didn’t violate any laws or school policies.

The student distributed a pamphlet published by the Christian group Living Waters Publications, which begins by describing a woman who is locked in a car on a train track and is rescued at the last minute from being hit by an oncoming train she didn’t see.

“Perhaps you believe you are gay, or maybe you are sympathetic toward homosexuality and you think that what people do sexually is their own business,” the pamphlet read. “Whatever the case, I want to convince you that you are sitting in a car on a railroad track with a train coming, and you don’t know it.”

Watch a report on Bendapudi’s meeting with students below.

The post University of Louisville Reverses Course, Bars Student from Distributing Anti-Gay Literature in LGBT Studies Class appeared first on Towleroad Gay News.

University of Louisville Reverses Course, Bars Student from Distributing Anti-Gay Literature in LGBT Studies Class

‘Visible’ Shows TV’s ‘Problematic Progress’ in LGBTQ Representation

Director Ryan White discusses decades of queer visibility (and invisibility) chronicled on the Apple TV+ docuseries Visible: Out on Television.

www.advocate.com/television/2020/2/14/visible-shows-tvs-problematic-progress-lgbtq-representation