One of the most famous content creators on YouTube, Joey Greiseffa (Joey Graceffa), admitted that the example of other celebrities from the LGBTQ+ community helped him decide to publicly talk about his sexual orientation. He said that openness Sivan's Troy and Connora Franty was a turning point that helped him overcome many years of internal struggle.
Joey Graceffa talked about it in a podcast We Need To Talk, recalling the period when the so-called "coming out videos" became extremely popular on the YouTube platform.
Greiseffa's path to self-acceptance was long and painful. The blogger admitted that he had been suffering from internal homophobia. He recalled almost comical but revealing cases from his teenage years, when he constantly took online tests on the topic "Am I gay?" If the test result was positive, Joey simply closed it and went through it again, hoping to get a different answer, as he was afraid to admit the truth even to himself.
The turning point for Greiseffa was the coming out of other major bloggers such as Troy Sivan and Connor Franta. At that point, Joey already had about 3-4 million subscribers, and he seriously feared that recognition would ruin his career and alienate his audience, especially young girls. However, after seeing the huge wave of support that his colleagues received, he found the courage he needed.
Coming out as an art
In 2015, Greiseffa decided to turn his confession into an artistic manifesto. Instead of a traditional spoken video, he shot a large-scale music video for the song Don’t Wait. The production of this video cost the blogger $60,000. Filming took place in Montana and was a fairytale story about self-acceptance, in the end of which Joey kisses a man (her then partner Daniel Preda).
The reaction of the audience was incredibly positive: the number of subscribers has grown, and the video itself has now collected tens of millions of views.
The Shadow of the Past and YouTube's "Dark Times"
Despite the success of coming out, Joey's life was marred by difficult family circumstances. In the podcast, he spoke candidly about childhood traumas related to his mother's addiction and emotional abuse. He also mentioned his concerns about the reaction of his father, an adherent of traditional masculinity, who, despite his son's fears, ended up supporting him.
Today, Greiseffa notes that YouTube's "golden age," when the platform was a safe haven for "weirdos and outcasts," has given way to a darker period.
Due to the rise of negativity, cancel culture, and trolling, the blogger has partially changed the focus of his content, focusing on saving animals in order to less subject his personal life to attacks.
However, Joey's story remains an important example of how publicity and honesty influencers can help thousands of people overcome isolation and find a way to themselves.
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