Where this was said
Growing Up Closeted: Hollywood, Secrecy, and the Queerbaiting Accusations
At 43:43 · chapter starts 38:00
Gage's coming-out story resists the 'always knew' template. His first sexual experiences were shaped by abuse, and for years he used that fact as a psychological escape hatch to explain away any same-sex attraction: 'Well, I was molested — that's why.' He genuinely loved the girlfriends he had. His first male relationship was with his neighbour, lasting three years largely in secret — thrilling at first, then corrosive. He finally came out publicly in tears at a Little Mermaid audition. In parallel, industry advisors explicitly warned him that being openly gay would pigeonhole him into only gay roles — advice that still carries some truth, he admits, though figures like Jonathan Bailey are shifting the landscape. The queerbaiting allegations that arrived online were painful and absurd: accused of stealing gay roles while being gay. His accidental clap-back tweet — 'you don't know my alphabet' — became unexpectedly beloved. Gage also reflects on the particular cruelty of secret relationships within military-inflected San Diego, where hypermasculinity and shame compound the toxicity of hiding.
Gage didn't always know he was gay. Early sexual abuse gave him a ready excuse to explain away curiosity. For years, any same-sex feeling got attributed to trauma rather than identity. Coming out at a Little Mermaid audition — in tears — was the moment the performance finally cracked.
Gage spent three years in a relationship with his male neighbor — hiding it from everyone for most of that time. The secrecy felt exciting at first. Then it became corrosive. He finally came out at a Little Mermaid audition, mid-tears.
Lukas Gage spent years closeted in Hollywood because industry advice warned that being out would confine him to only gay roles. Online accusers attacked him for queerbaiting. His response — 'you don't know my alphabet' — became an accidental viral moment.
