2019 Brigham Young University valedictorian Matt Easton used the platform of his graduation speech to come out. He said, “I am proud to be a gay son of god.” Watch the moment above!
BYU is owned by the slowly evolving Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which has recently stopped officially referring to its LGBTQ members as “apostates” and has lifted rules around blessing the children of same-sex parents.
hmm…i actually think it was really poor judgment to come out this way. graduation ceremonies are about the collective community of students who have busted their asses to earn a degree, and i think it’s a bit selfish to hijack a ceremony that’s meant to celebrate everyone and make it about himself. it necessarily steals the spotlight away from other students who perhaps don’t have a “hero’s journey” to celebrate. he’s up there getting praise and accolades from everyone, while other graduates might feel a bit cheated for having this moment turned into his personal “coming out” story. i dunno, it’s hard to explain, but as a gay soon-to-be valedictorian at law school, i would never use my speech to declare my sexuality to the world. i would rather try to speak a message that includes everyone and magnifies the entire community’s achievement, rather than my own personal story of acceptance. but that’s just my 2 cents.
Great perspective, Charlie! I wonder, too, if maybe law school taught you some things that undergrads might still be working through.
Dave, you’re totally correct. I just disabled AdBlock for this site, the page reloaded, and now the video is visible! Thanks for the tip!
??? No video here.
Hi Doug, we’re testing a new video platform. Will email you to help troubleshoot.
I can tell you the most likely reason is that he’s using a browser with some sort of ad-blocking feature. On Firefox, disabling ABP for this page enabled the video. Honestly, most times I don’t disable it and just skip video.. ya never know what sort of tracking bits you’ll pick up on a site.
Good for him I am happy to be openly gay too. all the Best Matt Big Hug.