Model Shaun Ross shares the advice his grandfather gave him when he came out as gay
Model, musician and DJ Shaun Ross saw one of his social media posts go viral over the weekend.
New York City-raised Ross, 33, made a splash in the modeling world when he signed up with his first agency at 16. He is one of only a few high-profile models with albinism.
Alongside his modeling career, he released his first track as a musician in 2017. He is also a DJ, appearing at festivals and club events worldwide. He has over 900K followers on Instagram alone.
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On Threads on Sunday, Ross said, “I remember coming out to my grandpa a year before he passed. I was shocked by how he embraced me. I said, ‘Grandad, I’m gay,’ and he replied, ‘Well, can you cook?’ I said, ‘Not really.’ He laughed, ‘How do you expect to keep a man?’ He told me about gay men in 1950s Harlem who hosted dinners, dressed sharp, and had beautiful homes. He said they taught him so much about how to carry himself.”
View on Threads
The post has had over 33K likes and hundreds of comments. Many shared their own coming-out experiences with relatives they thought might be homophobic.
“When my aunt and mother outed me to my very openly homophobic auntie, she was mad at how they violated agency, not that I was queer,” said one. “It gave us a chance to talk, and eventually, shocker, at 80-something, she listened to me and learned about how she’d been looking at things all wrong. Proof that age doesn’t have to be an excuse for bigotry, people can grow&change.”
Another said, “My mom tells me my grandma is on the homophobic side, yet she was the one to out me when I was still discovering myself. She still calls me her baby to this day.”
Learning to cook
Others admired Ross’ grandpa’s attitude.
“Grandpa said you can be gay, but not a scrub,” quipped one.
Another re-imagined the grandpa’s words: “You will be gay but damn well you’ll be good at it!”
Others asked Ross if he followed his Grandpa’s advice and learned to cook.
“Sure did,” replied Ross.
View on Threads
In a later post, Ross shared photos of his grandpa.
View on Threads
Engagement
And yesterday Ross shared a video of some of his cooking and a hug with his partner. Ross announced his engagement to model and actor David Alan Madrick in August 2022.
“For everyone asking if I cook now and if I have a man (based on that post about my grandpa’s advice on keeping a man when I was 19), the answer is yes. I’m 33 now, I love cooking, and I’m happily engaged.”
View on Threads
He also shared that the presence of a queer family member helped him embrace his own sexuality.
View on Threads
Related
This mom’s Tom of Finland-inspired gift for her son has the gay internet wondering where they can get one too
This is beautiful.
This grandma has the best response when homophobia hits her grandson’s wedding plans
Everyone deserves a grandma like this.
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