The other day we mentioned that a Christian TV host had made the brave decision to come out publicly as a gay man, obviously a brave move considering that the milieu isn't known to be the most gay-friendly. Azariah Southworth, the host of Christian music program The Remix, took some time out of his day yesterday to speak with me about his decision and what he expects it will mean for his career, his personal life, and his industry.

We'll be running the full interview early next week, but you can check out a preview of our chat after the break.

 

AfterElton.com:  So what was the straw that broke the camel's back? Why did you decide to come out publicly as gay now?

Azariah Southworth: It's been a long time coming, as I said. I went through some things this past year and did a lot of research about what the Bible really says about homosexuality, and did a lot of prayer. And I came to the conclusion that, you know what? This is okay. For me, this is okay. And I became confident in that and confident in who I am. I knew the risk I was taking, but I found that it was going to be better to live my life authentically and honestly rather than continue to do what I was doing, building a career, and suppressing feelings and being in denial. Because careers will always end, but who I am as a person goes further beyond that, and the legacy that I want to leave is not one of denial and suppression. I want to be honest and authentic to people.

 

Be sure to check back next week for our full interview, where we discuss romance, inspiration, the lack of gay Christian role models, and much more.