Lilly Singh, the first openly bisexual woman of color talk show host, on impact of coming out
Lilly Singh's coming out has made an impact with her fans.
Singh, the Indian-Canadian YouTube comedian with nearly 15 million subscribers who is now replacing Carson Daly on NBC late-night, announced the career move in March. A month earlier, she came out as bisexual, making her the first openly bisexual woman of color talk show host.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Singh discussed the positive effect her coming out has had on even conservative audiences.
"The very next meet-and-greet that I did after coming out was in India, and I would say 50 percent of people in that line came out to me," she said. "To me, that is success."
She also discussed her journey to discovering her sexuality.
"It's not that I had this big secret," she explained. "Because of the culture I was raised in, I never actually allowed myself to figure things out. Moving to L.A., I was exposed to so many different types of people, and I think that probably opened up my horizons."
She told the magazine she gave herself the deadline of her 30th birthday to come out to friends and family. It wasn't until five months later that she came out to her fanbase in a tweet where she described herself as "female, coloured, bisexual."
Lilly Singh is the 'Indian-Canadian woman' replacing Carson Daly on NBC late-night
✅ Female
✅ Coloured
✅ Bisexual
Throughout my life these have proven to be obstacles from time to time. But now I’m fully embracing them as my superpowers.
No matter how many “boxes” you check, I encourage you to do the same x
❤️🧡💛💚💙— Lilly Singh (@Lilly) February 25, 2019
"Throughout my life these have proven to be obstacles from time to time. But now I'm fully embracing them as my superpowers," she wrote in her tweet. "no matter how many 'boxes' you check, I encourage you to do the same."
She told THR that she's trying out dating apps, but isn't planning on sharing her romantic life with fans.
"I've signed up for this life, but not everyone has," she said.
More out celebs: Disney Channel star Joshua Rush says he's bisexual, talks 'internalized homophobia'
More: Halsey blasts troll who said Miley Cyrus and Liam Hemsworth split over her sexuality
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Lilly Singh talks impact of her coming out as bisexual in India
