"And The Truth Shall Set You Free..."

Boxer Comes Out As Gay, Explains Why He Lied About Starring In Porn Film
Days after coming out as bisexual, Yusaf Mack said he's "tired of holding it in."

The Huffington Post
Curtis M. Wong
11/5/2015

The professional boxer who came out as bisexual after claiming he was drugged and forced into performing in a gay porn film now says he is, in fact, a gay man.

Yusaf Mack told FOX 29 Thursday that he wanted to set the record straight about his sexuality, and said he's known the truth for about eight years now.

"I'm gay. I'm tired of holding it in, it is what it is," Mack said. "I live my life. I'm gay."

The 35-year-old father of 10 also changed his tune when it came to starring in "Holiday Hump'n." In the adult film, "Philly" (Mack) performs in a threesome alongside two other men who call themselves, "Bamm Bamm" and "Young Buck."

Although, Mack claimed last week that he must have been drugged to have had sex with other men in the film, he now says he remembers the entire experience. He also said it was the only adult film he's ever done, and he wasn't sure when it was going to be released.

"It was all a lie," he said. "To try to cover myself up."

The very public backlash from the video, it seems, has had a personal impact. Mack had been engaged to marry a woman he'd been with for five years before the news hit. He also admitted to having a very tough conversation with his eldest daughter, who suggested he kill himself after the news broke about the film, according to FOX 29.

The boxer said he has mended fences with his former fiancé, and that his other children have been supportive.

It's the latest twist in a case that has gotten progressively more confusing. When he was first approached about "Holiday Hump'n" in mid-October, Mack claimed it wasn't him in the video, and that he'd never seen it. He quickly changed his story, however, after he said friends convinced him that it was, in fact, him in the movie.

The film's producers denied Mack's initial accusations that he'd been drugged. Earlier this week, he said he'd performed in the film "because at the time I needed money but also because I am a bisexual man."

In a statement released to The Shade Room, he said he'd initially lied because his life "was completely destroyed once it had been outed that I participated in a gay film."

"I selfishly tried to cover the truth and remain in denial, rather than accept the fact that I was leading a double life secretly," he said in the statement.

********

I understand the desperation and fear that he must have felt... A life lived in fear leads to many poor choices.  Having embraced his truth, may he find the peace in his heart we all desire.

"Fear Eats the Soul"