LGBTQ YouTube Stars
Since launching in 2005, the video-sharing website YouTube has grown exponentially in terms of popularity, viewership, influence, and global reach. Founded by three employees of the payment-processing firm PayPal, the YouTube site was purchased by Google in 2006 for US$ 1.5 billion. Today, YouTube accounts for a material portion of the growth of Google itself.
As a video-sharing website, YouTube’s original audience was the tech-savvy young generation, but this has subsequently expanded to include all generations of cell phone, computer, tablet, and other electronic device users. The attraction for many presenters on YouTube (who create their own channels) is that it allows global access for their personal videos that cost very little to produce – an entrepreneur’s dream.
Over the last few years, many popular YouTube stars (in terms of subscribers to their YouTube channel) have used their exposure to come out as LGBTQ. In each case, their public announcement of their sexual orientation has not hindered their immense popularity.
LGBTQ YouTube stars have made their mark in numerous fields of interest. These include music (Steve Grand), the sciences (Greg Brown and Mitchell Moffitt), activism (Connor Franta), cooking (Hannah Hart), fashion and modelling (Ingrid Nilsen), transgender issues (Jazz Jennings), online psychotherapy (Matthew J. Dempsey), gay parenting (Frank Lowe), sitcoms (Joey Graceffa), blogs (B. Scott), comedy (Mawaan Rizwan), wine (Matt Bellassai), and more.
Did you know the first YouTube channel to have over 1 million subscribers was an LGBTQ individual? He was Lucas Cruikshank, creator of Fred Figglehorn (a fictional 6 year old). The Fred character has spun off its own television show (on Nickleodeon) and movies.
As well, gay Troye Sivan has the number 2 YouTube channel in Australia. Michael Buckley is noted for breaking the record for YouTube ratings when four of his shows ended up on the week's ten top-rated videos.
We have identified the following popular YouTube stars as out and proud members of the LGBTQ community:
- Doug Armstrong, Great Britain
- Matt Bellassai, United States
- Big Dipper, United States
- Kat Baque, United States
- Raymond Braun, United States
- Derrick Briggs, United States
- Greg Brown, Canada
- Michael Buckley, United States
- Chris Crocker, United States
- Lucas Cruikshank, United States
- Davey Wavey, United States
- Shane Dawson, United States
- Matthew J. Dempsey, United States
- Jordan Doww, United States
- Scotty Dynamo, Canada
- Nicola Foti, United States
- Connor Franta, United States
- Joey Graceffa, United States
- Steve Grand, United States
- Frankie Grande, United States
- Todrick Hall, United States
- Hannah Hart, United States
- Miles Jai, United States
- Jazz Jennings, United States
- Brendan Jordan, United States
- Skylar Kergil, United States
- Riyadh Khalaf, Ireland
- Kingsley, United States
- Claire Kittrell, United States
- Jacob Kohinoor, United States
- Kyle Krieger, United States
- Aaron Laxton, United States
- Aaron Jay Ledesma, United States
- Lohanthony, United States
- Frank Lowe, United States
- Dan Mallow, United States
- Calum McSwiggan, Great Britain
- Jack Merridew, United States
- Mitchell Moffitt, Canada
- Ingrid Nilsen, United States
- Tyler Oakley, United States
- Trent Owers, Great Britain
- Aaron Rhodes, United States
- Austin Rhodes, United States
- Mawaan Rizwan, Pakistan
- Matthew Schueller, United States
- B. Scott, United States
- Luke Shayler, Great Britain
- Troye Sivan, Australia
- Brandon Skeie, United States
- Sam Tsui, United States
- Lena Waithe, United States
- Jeydon Wale, Canada
- Ryan James Yezak, United States
- Alexis G. Zall, United States
