Charlie Carver Recalled Fearing For Safety As A Young Gay Man In Emotional Speech

Charlie Carver may be proudly living as his authentic self these days, but his path to self-acceptance as a gay man was not without major challenges.

On Monday, the Teen Wolf and Desperate Housewives actor was presented with the 2020 GLSEN Gamechanger Award in a virtual ceremony. In a poignant speech, he recalled spending much of his youth fearing his sexuality would bring about something swift and terrible even as he received support from family.

There was just this abiding sense that school wasnt safe, the 31-year-old said in the speech, viewable below. I recognize now that that thing I was so afraid of, the thing I was sort of running from and trying to manage, was my own shame.

LGBTQ kids really suffer from the shaming they interject on the internet, often at school and sadly sometimes at home, and it affects them for the rest of their lives, he continued. But I believe LGBTQ people are resilient and in some ways particularly special. I think we seem inherently capable at thinking compassionately, acting courageously, working creatively and living in community. But those essential qualities can really only emerge in an affirmative, safe and encouraging environment.

(Watch Charlie Carvers 2020 GLSEN Respect Everywhere speech below.)

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