Whose Line is it Anyway and Let’s Make a Deal host Wayne Brady has come out as "pansexual," saying it is like being "bisexual — with an open mind."
"Pansexual" means being attracted to people of any sex or gender, including those who are transgender or "non-binary."
Brady told People Magazine about his preferences, explaining, "In doing my research, both with myself and just with the world, I couldn't say if I was bisexual, because I had to really see what that was, especially because I really have not gotten a chance to act on anything. So, I came to pansexual because — and I know that I'm completely messing up the dictionary meaning — but to me, pan means being able to be attracted to anyone who identifies as gay, straight, bi, transsexual or non-binary."
"Being able to be attracted across the board," Brady said. "And, I think, at least for me for right now, that is the proper place. I took pan to mean that not only can I be attracted to any of these people or types physically, but I could be attracted to the person that is there."
Brady first told his ex-wife Mandie Taketa, 47, with whom he shares a 20-year-old daughter Maile, about his preferences.
“I just said, ‘Great.’ As I knew coming out would help him be happier," Mandie Taketa told People.
Maile Taketa told the magazine that when her father came out to her, “I just said, ‘Okay.’"
Brady, his ex-wife, and her boyfriend Jason Fordham are now filming a reality show about their family for Hulu. Fordham and Taketa had a baby last year and said that they consider her ex-husband a "co-parent."
In his statement to People Magazine, Brady complained about being cast to host game shows when what he really wants to do is act. He also said that he was "treated for love addiction" while in therapy.
Brady also posted about his sexual preferences on Instagram, writing "As someone who gets to bring joy to others daily on tv, it's been ironic that I don't experience it as much as I'd like. I advocate mental health for all and a part of that is self transparency. In doing my work, I've come to see a few truths, one of them being that I want to be free to love whomever I want. This truth makes me Pan and part of the Igbtq+ family."
"It's scary as hell to say out loud but here it is," Brady continued. "The people I admire the most are the ones brave enough to be themselves unapologetically. This shouldn't shake anyone's world, but if it bothers you at all, that's your business: I was so afraid of having my manhood questioned, but screw that. A 'real man' in my eyes, isn't afraid to be honest and happy. From now on, I'll be over here living my best life!"
Brady said that while he has been attracted to men, he has never dated one.
"So, what does it mean if I feel something?" Brady said in his statement to People. "I don't think I'm gay, but what if I feel something for another [man]... That's still gay. I was already bullied about a bunch of other s--t. I didn't wanna add a top hat on top of that suit."
