K-Pop’s Just B Singer Comes Out as Gay

JoJo Siwa Comes Out as Queer on Celebrity Big Brother UK

Bain is on the right track, baby.  

During the final stop of K-pop boy band Just B’s Just Odd World Tour, the 23-year-old shared that he is a member of the LGBTQ+ community—making him one of the first-ever active K-pop idols to publicly come out as gay.

“I want to share something with you guys,” Bain said onstage during a solo performance at Los Angeles’ Vermont Hollywood Hall, as seen in a video posted to his Instagram April 24. “I’m f–king proud to be a part of the LGBTQ+ community—as a gay person.”

And as the crowd erupted in deafening cheers, with one fan happily waving a Pride flag near the stage, Bain made sure to give a bit of credit to one of his biggest inspirations.

“Shoutout to my queen Lady Gaga,” he yelled, emphasizing that the “Abracadabra” singer was the one who “showed me that being different is beautiful.”

Because now, Bain hopes to inspire the same courage in his own fans to embrace their true identities.  

“To anyone out there who’s part of the LGBTQ+ community, or still figuring it out,” he continued, “this is for you guys. And also, this is for everyone!”

“You are seen, you are loved,” he concluded, adding in one last nod to the three-time Grammy winner, “and you were born this way.”

Following the band’s performance, Bain’s bandmate Siwoo showed his support by penning a sweet message, per NBC News, on a South Korean fan platform.

“I was watching from backstage and I cried too,” Siwoo wrote. “I cried even more because I knew how hard it was for him.”

After all, homosexuality remains to be a sensitive subject in South Korea.

“While the Republic of Korea (South Korea) broadly respects the rights of its citizens, there are significant human rights concerns,” the Human Rights Watch stated in a 2023 report, “especially regarding lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people.”

And before Bain, there were only a few K-pop stars that have ever come out as part of the LGBTQ+ community. Among the few include Jiae, a member of the now-disbanded girl group Wassup who came out as bisexual in 2020, as well as Holland, who debuted in 2018 with a risky music video that featured a same-sex kiss.

“When I was younger, there wasn’t a Korean idol singer who had openly come out or revealed their LGBTQ+ status,” Holland told British Vogue in 2020. “So during my schooling years, when I was going through a tough time, I was influenced a lot by Western LGBTQ+ pop artists. I knew we needed a similar figure in Korea.”

For more stars that have shared their coming out story, keep reading.

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JoJo Siwa

The Dance Moms alum didn’t give it a second thought when she came out in a 2021 Instagram story. 

“I came out when I was 17 but I didn’t understand at the time what a big deal that was,” she told People in October 2023. “I didn’t understand why that was scary.”

“Of course there was a lot of positivity and love and acceptance but then there was a lot of negativity, and I did lose a lot,” she continued. “I didn’t care, and I still don’t care [about] the things I lost and the people that I lost and if I lost a chunk of fans…because it’s who I am.”

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Miley Cyrus

While the “Flowers” singer was never a big fan of labels, she came out as pansexual in 2016.

“My whole life, I didn’t understand my own gender and my own sexuality,” she revealed to Variety in October 2016. “I always hated the word ‘bisexual,’ because that’s even putting me in a box. I don’t ever think about someone being a boy or someone being a girl.”

She continued, “Also, my nipple pasties and s–t never felt sexualized to me. My eyes started opening in the fifth or sixth grade. My first relationship in my life was with a chick.”

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Matt Bomer

For Matt, coming out to his conservative Christian family marked the start of a new era in his life. 

“Telling your family is a huge, huge deal,” the White Collar alum, who shares three kids with husband Simon Halls, previously told OUT Magazine. “I really view my life as divided between the time before I told my parents, and the time after. And the decisions I made, and the life I lived, before and after, are vastly different. It’s night and day.”

(Photo by Noam Galai/Getty Images for MTV)

Chappell Roan

The “Good Luck, Babe!” singer revealed that she isn’t always as confident and comfortable as she may seem. And her Midwest roots played a huge role.

“I was scared of flamboyantly gay people because I was taught that,” she told Rolling Stone. “[I realized] people hate flamboyantly gay people because it just exudes femininity, and people hate women. Just little things like that, you’re like, ‘Oh my God, this is just so fu–ed.'”

“It took a lot of unlearning, and there’s still things I”m still confused about, and [it’s] why I feel so uncomfortable being gay sometimes,” she continued. “I don’t get why this is such an issue for me. It shouldn’t be, but something’s just going on and I need to just accept that.”

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Gabby Windey

The Bachelorette alum came out on an episode of The View, when she revealed she was in a committed relationship with a woman. 

“I’ve been keeping it kind of private,” she said in the August 2023 episode, “because it is a bigger story and a bigger conversation because I’m dating a girl.”

“I think it was always a whisper in me that just got louder and louder,” she continued. “I didn’t really know to pay attention to it. When this happens there’s some shame attached to it and I had to a little bit navigate through that shame; what is it, where is it coming from.” 

(Photo by Gilbert Flores/Billboard via Getty Images)

Renee Rapp

The Mean Girls star, having previously identified as bisexual, came out as lesbian in January 2024—on an episode of Saturday Night Live. And her friends played a supporting role in the decision. 

“All of a sudden, I had these people around me who were either nonbinary people, trans friends, or lesbians,” she told Billboard months later, “and I was like, ‘I feel so happy when I’m with you guys. And I also really want to call myself a lesbian when I’m around you.’”

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Amber Ruffin

The former late-night host officially came out as queer on the last day of Pride month in 2024. 

“In what will come as a shock to exactly zero people, I’m using the last day of PRIDE to come out!” she wrote in a June 2024 Instagram post, wearing a tank with the word “Queer” printed on the front.

“Be proud of who you are, little babies! I know I am!” she continued. “And I can’t wait to be discriminated against for a new reason!!”

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Dove Cameron

The former Disney Channel star revealed that before revealing her sexuality, she was afraid to publicly come out as queer. 

“I’ve hinted about my sexuality for years while being afraid to spell it out for everybody,” she told Gay Times in May 2021. “I did a lyric video last year, for ‘We Belong.’ It had moving line drawings of people falling in love…It was all a man and a woman making out and it was a weird moment for me.” 

“When the song came out, everybody got the idea that the song was a big LGBTQ+ anthem song and I found myself in this position where everyone thought I was queerbaiting,” she continued. “I went on Instagram Live and said ‘Guys, I really needed to explain something to you. Maybe I haven’t said it, but I’m super queer. This is something I want to represent through my music because it’s who I am.'”

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Demi Lovato

The “Heart Attack” singer came out as non-binary in a 2021 Instagram post.

“Every day we wake up, we are given another opportunity and chance to be who we want and wish to be,” she wrote in the caption. “I’ve spent the majority of my life growing in front of all of you… you’ve seen the good, the bad, and everything in between. Not only has my life been a journey for myself, I was also living for those on the other side of the cameras.”

“Today is a day I’m so happy to share more of my life with you all – I am proud to let you know that I identify as non-binary and will officially be changing my pronouns to they/them moving forward,” Demi—who has since gone back to using she/her pronouns—continued. “This has come after a lot of healing and self-reflective work. I’m still learning and coming into myself, and I don’t claim to be an expert or a spokesperson. Sharing this with you now opens another level of vulnerability for me.”

(Photo by Steven Simione/FilmMagic)

Becca Tilley

The Bachelor alum, who has been dating singer Hayley Kiyoko since 2018, did not publicly come out until four years into her relationship. And though she admitted it felt weird once everyone found out, she saw the impact of publicly sharing her truth. 

“I realized this is so much bigger than me and my relationship and my personal experience because if it helped anyone feel comfortable or brave to be comfortable with who they fall in love with, then that’s way bigger than me and my fears and what I was scared of,” she told E! News in June 2022. “It’s very humbling to read comments like that and realize the significance of something as simple as falling in love and sharing that.”

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Troye Sivan

Three years after coming out to his family at age 15, Troye publicly shared his story in a YouTube video. And as he later recalled, his decision to come out came amid a pivotal moment in his life.

“I was about to sign my record deal, and I really wanted to be in charge of how I came out,” he told People in February 2022. “I didn’t want anyone to take that away from me. I wanted to start going out and going to gay clubs and meeting boys, and I wanted to write songs about love that were true and genuine.”

(Photo by John Salangsang/Variety via Getty Images)

Chrishell Stause

The Selling Sunset star—who is married to singer G Flip—stresses the importance of prioritizing yourself. 

“If someone truly loves you, your happiness should always come before their beliefs,” Chrishell, who began her romance with the Australian singer in 2022, told E! News. “Never conform to others ideas they have for your life. It’s yours and you only get one.”

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Chris Olsen

The TikToker—who was openly gay at an all-boys high school—uses his platform to encourage others to be comfortable with who they are. 

“My identity will already be something that can be of controversy, depending on who the audience is,” Chris told E! News in October 2022. “So one of my passive-active missions in having this platform is to try to break that down and bring normalcy to this identity.”

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Andy Cohen

The Bravo star, who came out while in college, shared some valuable advice for having those big coming out conversations. 

“My advice would be, find one friend that you can tell,” he previously told E! News. “All it takes is one friend that you know will be supportive. And that friend can be your island and just kind of branch out from there. It’s always worse in your head than it’s going to be.” 

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