Arts & Entertainment

‘Teen Wolf’ actor Charlie Carver comes out

‘The Leftovers’ cast member opened up about his sexuality

Published

10 years ago

January 12, 2016

Mariah Cooper

(Screenshot courtesy of YouTube)

“Teen Wolf” and “The Leftovers” actor Charlie Carver came out in a five-part post on Instagram on Monday.

The 27-year-old posted a photo of the quote “Be Who You Needed When You Were Younger” and then added a five-part written caption to the photo.

“As a young boy, I knew I wanted to be an actor. I knew I wanted to be a lot of things… It was around that age that I also knew, however abstractly, that I was different from some of the other boys in my grade,” Carver writes. “Over time, this abstract ‘knowing’ grew and articulated itself through a painful gestation marked by feelings of despair and alienation, ending in a climax of saying three words out loud: ‘I am gay.'”

Carver went on to say that he was fearful to come out because of his acting career.

“As an actor, I believed that my responsibility to the craft and the business was to remain benevolently neutral – I was a canvas, a chameleon, the next character. For the most part I had a duty to stay a possibility in the eye of casting, directors, and the public,” Carver writes. “If I came out, I feared I would be limiting myself to a type, to a perception with limits that I was not professionally comfortable with.”

Eventually Carver realized that this didn’t have to be the case and is grateful to those people who helped him realize that.

“So now, let the record show this – I self-identify as gay… I owe it to myself, more than anything, to be who I needed when I was younger,” Carver writes.

The actor has played gay characters, such as in “I Am Michael” where he shared a threesome with James Franco and Zachary Quinto, but this is the first time he has come out publicly.

Carver also noted that his twin brother and fellow actor Max Carver is “just as cool for being straight.”

Related Topics:Charlie Carver I Am Michael Instagram James Franco Max Carver Teen Wolf The Leftovers Zachary Quinto

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Photos

PHOTOS: Frederick Pride Festival

LGBTQ celebration held at Carroll Creek Park

Published

2 hours ago

June 30, 2026

Michael Key

A scene from the 2026 Frederick Pride Festival. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

The 13th annual Frederick Pride Festival was held at Carroll Creek Park in Frederick, Md. on Saturday, June 27.

(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)

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Photos

PHOTOS: Fredericksburg Pride March and Festival

LGBTQ celebration held in historic Virginia town

Published

23 hours ago

June 29, 2026

Michael Key

A scene from the 2026 Fredericksburg Pride March. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

The sixth annual Fredericksburg Pride March was held in downtown Fredericksburg, Va. on Saturday, June 27. Stafford County Board of Supervisors Chair Deuntay Diggs led the march alongside Fredericksburg City Council Member Jannan W. Holmes. The Fredericksburg Pride Festival took place at Riverfront Park after the march. Bree Fram was the featured speaker.

(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)

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Egypt

Iran, Egypt play in World Cup ‘Pride Match’

FIFA allowed Pride flags inside Seattle stadium

Published

2 days ago

June 28, 2026

Michael K. Lavers

(Screen capture via KOMO News/YouTube)

Iran and Egypt on Friday faced off during the World Cup’s “Pride Match” in Seattle.

Iran is among the handful of countries in which consensual same-sex sexual relations remain punishable by death. Discrimination and persecution based on sexual orientation and gender identity is commonplace in Egypt.

Friday’s match coincided with Pride weekend in Seattle. The Egyptian Football Association and the Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran both objected to playing in the “Pride Match.”

Egypt and Iran tied 1-1.

FIFA, for its part, allowed Pride flags inside the stadium during the match.

“The FIFA World Cup 2026 is an inclusive event that welcomes people from all backgrounds,” a FIFA spokesperson told the Washington Blade in a statement. “Fans of all sexual orientations and gender identities are welcome at matches and events. General statements of human rights, including rainbow flags and other flags representing sexual orientation and gender identity, are permitted under the FIFA World Cup 2026™ Stadium Code of Conduct and may be displayed inside stadiums provided they are used in a manner consistent with the code.”

Human Rights Watch welcomed FIFA’s decision to allow Pride flags inside the stadium. Outright International, a global LGBTQ and intersex rights group, distributed Pride flags in Seattle on Friday, which was Pride Match Day.

“Visibility matters,” said Outright International Executive Director Maria Sjödin. “Pride is now being celebrated in more than 100 countries, including this weekend in Seattle. For many LGBTIQ people, seeing a Pride flag in public is a reminder that they are not alone, and that their rights and dignity are recognized.”

FIFA President Gianni Infantino earlier this year told Die Weltwoche, a Swiss magazine, that “there will be no ‘Pride Match’ at the (FIFA) World Cup.”

“There will be a FIFA World Cup match in Seattle, and on the same day, events organized by external organizations will be taking place in the city,” said Infantino. “But that has nothing to do with the match itself.”

Peter Tatchell, a long-time LGBTQ activist from the U.K. who is director of the Peter Tatchell Foundation, was among those who traveled to Seattle for Friday’s match. Tatchell accused FIFA of not vetting World Cup teams — specifically Iran, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Ghana, Senegal, Qatar, Tunisia, Morocco, Iraq, Uzbekistan, and Algeria — over whether they would allow gay players.

“FIFA is protecting LGBT+ visibility in the stands while failing to protect LGBT+ players on the pitch,” said Tatchell.