Mara Wilson has broken her silence. Everyone seems to be affected by the Orlando shooting in a different way. For child actress turned writer Mara Wilson, the shooting has given her the courage and freedom to come out.
Mara Wilson, who rose to fame in popular ’90s movies such as Mrs. Doubtfire and Matilda , broke her silence about the shootings in Orlando to identify as Queer/Bi. Wilson took to Twitter to voice her support.
Wilson shared a photo of herself inside a gay nightclub and added the following caption to the photo:
Me at a gay club when I was eighteen. I feel embarrassed looking at it now… pic.twitter.com/qMZec3WBvu
— Mara Wilson (@MaraWritesStuff) June 12, 2016
“Me at a gay club when I was eighteen. I feel embarrassed looking at it now…Being a ‘straight girl’ where I clearly didn’t belong, but I will say, I felt so welcomed there.
“I have never had a better experience at a club than I did then. Great music and people. And one of my friends met his partner that night!”
She continued to explain the reason why she felt so welcomed, and how her personal discoveries about herself aided to how she felt towards the LGBT community.
“The LGBTQ community has always felt like home. Especially a few years later when I, uh, learned something about myself.”
Pulse nightclub was a lifeline for Orlando’s LGBT community https://t.co/S5jdV7n4Ol pic.twitter.com/t4vWl6rqr8
— Huffington Post (@HuffingtonPost) June 12, 2016
“I know a lot of people don’t like the Kinsey scale, and that is fine by me, but I’m pragmatic at heart and find comfort in numbers. I said I *used* to identify as mostly straight. I’ve embraced the Bi/Queer label lately.”
The Kinsey scale was developed by Alfred Kinsey, and was created to rate someone’s sexual experience or a response at a specific time to a number. Here’s the scale and its ratings:
- 0 Exclusively heterosexual 1 Predominantly heterosexual, only incidentally homosexual 2 Predominantly heterosexual, but more than incidentally homosexual 3 Equally heterosexual and homosexual 4 Predominantly homosexual, but more than incidentally heterosexual 5 Predominantly homosexual, only incidentally heterosexual 6 Exclusively homosexual X No socio-sexual contacts or reactions
Although Mara’s announcement made a lot of headlines, she took to Twitter to express that she doesn’t wish to further the discussion by giving interviews to the media, or anyone that she doesn’t know personally. She went on to say that she only wants to talk about it in her own words and writing.
After getting criticism from some people about her statement, and praise from others, Wilson then said she was going to stay off Twitter.
“I think I’m going to stay off Twitter for a few days. I had no idea this would be such a thing, but I guess it’s flattering.’”
She followed that up with another tweet:
And please donate to this, people need it. It’s important. See you soon. https://t.co/xUDlJW1gZh
— Mara Wilson (@MaraWritesStuff) June 14, 2016
Many other celebrities have offered their condolences to the LGBT community following the attacks on the Orlando nightclub Pulse. In total, the shooter murdered 49 people at the LGBT club, mostly Hispanic, as that particular night was Latin night.
Most took to Twitter to express their shock and sadness about the largest massacre in the U.S.
We hurt. We mourn. We argue. We settle. We need to stop the cycle. #Orlando #PulseShooting
— Demi Lovato (@ddlovato) June 14, 2016
How do I explain this world to my children?
— Alyssa Milano (@Alyssa_Milano) June 12, 2016
How was this monster investigated by the FBI and still able to legally purchase guns? #gunreformnow
— Alyssa Milano (@Alyssa_Milano) June 12, 2016
The world is in peril. Today get stronger. A workout, silent time, clear your rage. Then go out and spread that strength all around you. ??????
— Lady Gaga (@ladygaga) June 14, 2016
[Photo by Mara Wilson via Mara Wilson Writes Stuff ]