Wayne Brady Comes Out as Pansexual — What to Know About the LGBTQ Label

ABC Wayne Brady
ABC Wayne Brady

Wayne Brady is the latest celebrity to open up about his sexuality. “I am pansexual,” the actor and TV host reveals to PEOPLE.

"To me, pan means being able to be attracted to anyone who identifies as gay, straight, bi, transsexual or non-binary. Being able to be attracted across the board. And, I think, at least for me for right now, that is the proper place," Brady, 51, shares. I took pan to mean that not only can I be attracted to any of these people or types physically, but I could be attracted to the person that is there."

The prefix “pan-” means “all.” So, pansexual refers to those who are romantically, emotionally, and/or sexually attracted to all people regardless of their gender identity.

Pansexual is often confused with bisexual and although the terms can overlap, they are not interchangeable. Bisexuality refers to those who are attracted to more than one gender, but not necessarily all genders. However, pansexuality does fall under the "bisexuality umbrella," according to GLAAD CEO Sarah Kate Ellis.

Related: Wayne Brady Comes Out as Pansexual: 'I'm Doing This for Me' (Exclusive)

“Pan is more about all-inclusive, and bi tends to be more than one,” she told USA Today. “The golden rule, honestly, is to call someone by how they identify.”

"Pansexuality is a newer and more expansive term, a bisexual person may have a preference more toward a particular gender and a pansexual person doesn't usually take gender into account," added Cathy Renna, director of communications at the National LGBTQ Task Force.

Along with Brady, other celebrities have also come out as pansexual including Demi Lovato, Mae Whitman, Jena Malone, Miley Cyrus, Tess Holliday, Bella Thorne, Janelle Monáe, Tammy Slaton and more.

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

<p>Emma McIntyre/Getty, Gary Gershoff/Getty, Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic</p> Miley Cyrus, Brendon Urie and Janelle Monae

Emma McIntyre/Getty, Gary Gershoff/Getty, Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic

Miley Cyrus, Brendon Urie and Janelle Monae


"I like queer," JoJo Siwa told PEOPLE in 2021. "Technically I would say that I am pansexual because that's how I have always been my whole life is just like, my human is my human."

For her past cover story for Variety, Cara Delevingne also opened up about being a queer woman in Hollywood.

"I always will remain, I think, pansexual," the model and actress told the outlet. "However one defines themselves, whether it’s ‘they’ or ‘he’ or ‘she,’ I fall in love with the person — and that’s that. I’m attracted to the person."

In 2018, Brendon Urie, the Panic! at the Disco frontman, came out as pansexual during an interview with Paper magazine.

"I'm married to a woman and I'm very much in love with her, but I'm not opposed to a man because to me, I like a person. Yeah, I guess you could qualify me as pansexual because I really don't care," he told the magazine.

"If a person is great, then a person is great. I just like good people, if your heart's in the right place. I'm definitely attracted to men. It's just people that I am attracted to," Urie added.

Outer Banks star Madison Bailey, who plays Kiara on Netflix's sudsy teen drama, revealed that she’s pansexual in 2020 while introducing her girlfriend. In a TikTok video, she explained that she's attracted to people regardless of their gender, and instead focusing on what's "on the inside."

"Nobody knows what pansexual means," she wrote over the clip. "Girls. Boys. Trans boys. Trans girls. Nonbinary babies. It's what's on the inside boo."

For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!

Read the original article on People.