'Harold and Kumar' star Kal Penn comes out as gay, announces engagement
Hollywood actor Kal Penn, best known for his lead role in the Harold and Kumar'comedy film franchise, has come out, revealing that he is engaged to his partner of eleven years.
According to Variety, the Indian origin actor made the revelation during his recent interview on 'CBS Sunday Morning', where he was promoting his new tell-all memoir 'You Can't Be Serious', touching on his introduction to acting, his time working with the Obama administration and his relationship with his partner, Josh. "Josh and I've been together for 11 years," Penn said, discussing how he presented his sexuality in his memoir.
He continued, "We had our 11th anniversary in October. So, writing about it... it's very matter-of-fact in our lives, and when you're the son of Indian immigrants who says that you want to be an actor, the chaos that that creates in your family and your community, will trump anything else, always."
After moving to Los Angeles to work as an actor, Penn broke out with the 2004 comedy 'Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle' alongside his co-star John Cho. The film spawned two sequels and led Penn to other projects, including the 2006 drama Namesake and the Fox series House.
Penn also took a hiatus from acting to campaign for President Barack Obama. He went on to work within the administration in the office of public engagement, working to connect Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. Penn met his fiance during his time working in Washington, D.C.
"I discovered my own sexuality relatively late in life compared to many other people," Penn later told People magazine, adding, "There's no timeline on this stuff. People figure their shit out at different times in their lives, so I'm glad I did when I did."
"I've always been very public [about my relationship] with everybody I've personally interacted with. I'm really excited to share our relationship with readers. But Josh, my partner, my parents, and my brother, four people who I'm closest to in the family, are fairly quiet. They don't love attention and shy away from the limelight," shared Penn, indicating why he hasn't shared many photos of Josh on social media.
As per Page Six, however, a photo posted by Penn on June 27 during Pride in NYC shows him out with a group of four other men, including Josh.
He could be seen wearing a backwards cap and standing next to Kal for the group shot.
He also appeared next to Penn in a second photo from the same weekend, this time at a table with three different friends and a dog. "A very fun NYC Sunday. Happy Pride y'all!" Penn had captioned the two photos. (ANI)