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‘Pretty Little Liars’ Alum Tyler Blackburn Reveals He’s Bisexual: ‘I Just Want to Feel Powerful in My Own Skin’
He’s coming clean. Pretty Little Liars alum Tyler Blackburn revealed that he is bisexual during an interview with The Advocate published on Friday, April 19.
“I’m queer,” the 32-year-old revealed to the outlet. “I’ve identified as bisexual since a teenager. I just want to feel powerful in my own skin, and my own mind, and in my own heart.”
He also wanted to make it known that the mainstream view of bisexuality had him feeling unsure of himself and his path to coming out publicly. “I heard so many things from within the queer community about bisexuality being a cop-out or bullshit or the easy way out or something,” he explained. “And that always stuck with me because I felt the pressure from all sides to have [my sexuality] figured out and I think for the longest time, I suppressed more of my attraction to men.”
“It wasn’t until my late 20s, towards the end of Pretty Little Liars, that I really allowed myself to go there and not just wonder about it or lust over it, but experience that vulnerability and experience the emotional aspect of what it is to be bisexual,” he said.
The actor currently stars in the CW reboot of the late ’90s hit show Roswell called Roswell, New Mexico, where he plays Alex Manes, a gay war veteran and amputee.
“I knew this guy in and out,” he explained of connecting with his character. “I understood feeling oppressed. I understood having issues with my father [wanting to feel] accepted by him. I understood wanting something but being afraid to have it. I understood self-doubt.”
For Tyler, it’s all about being honest in the skin he’s in — famous or not. “I just want to live my truth and feel OK with experiencing love and experiencing self-love,” he said, “Yes, there is an element of, I want to feel like it’s OK to hold my boyfriend’s hand as I’m walking down the street, and not worry. Is someone going to look and be like, ‘Whoa, is that guy from that show? I didn’t know that [he was queer.]’ I want to own my space now.”
