Kal Penn of Harold & Kumar film series fame has come out as gay in a spectacular way, by writing about it in his memoir, 'You Can't Be Serious.'
Kal Penn of Harold & Kumar film series fame has come out as gay. He did this in a spectacular way, by writing about it in his memoir, You Can't Be Serious, which was released today, November 2. Not only did he come out as gay, but he also shared the wonderful news of his engagement to his partner of 11 years, Josh. He also shared the story of how they met and fell in love.
In the book, Penn explains how he met Josh when he was living in Washington D.C. Penn had taken a hiatus from his acting career to join the Obama administration as the Principal Associate Editor in the White House Office of Public Engagement. He was at the time playing the role of Lawrence Kutner in the TV show House and his character had to be written out. He also explained his decision to write about his relationship in the book.
"I've always been very public with everybody I've personally interacted with," Penn stated. "Whether it's somebody that I meet at a bar, if Josh and I are out or we're talking to friends. 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." He wanted to make sure he could keep his book transparent and honest without compromising the privacy of his family.
"I shared things with my parents and close friends first," he told PEOPLE, recalling the conversation he had in the past. "I know this sounds jokey, but it's true: When you've already told your Indian parents and the South Asian community that you intend to be an actor for a living, really any conversations that come after that are super easy. They're just like, 'Yeah, okay.' I felt very supported by everyone. That's a wonderful thing. I know everybody has different experiences with that and so I definitely feel very fortunate."
Penn also said that he discovered his sexuality relatively late in life. "There's no timeline on this stuff," he added. "People figure their s--- out at different times in their lives, so I'm glad I did when I did." He is now planning his wedding as he promotes his book. "I really hope that people enjoy the book. I hope it makes people laugh and smile," Penn said. "Obviously I am engaged to a man and our families will be there for the wedding. The big disagreement now is whether it's a huge wedding or a tiny wedding. I want the big-ass Indian wedding. Josh, hates attention, [has said], 'Or we could just do a quick 20-minute thing with our families and that's it.' So we have to meet halfway in the middle."
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