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 (Conor Franta), cooking (Hannah Hart), fashion and modelling (Ingrid Nilsen), sitcoms (Joey Graceffa), blogs (B. Scott), 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:
- Big Dipper, 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
- Scotty Dynamo, Canada
- Conor Franta, United States
- Joey Graceffa, United States
- Steve Grand, United States
- Todrick Hall, United States
- Hannah Hart, United States
- Kingsley, United States
- Jacob Kohinoor, United States
- Aaron Laxton, United States
- Aaron Jay Ledesma, United States
- Dan Mallow, United States
- Mitchell Moffitt, Canada
- Ingrid Nilsen, United States
- Tyler Oakley, United States
- Aaron Rhodes, United States
- Austin Rhodes, United States
- Mawaan Rizwan, Pakistan
- B. Scott, United States
- Troye Sivan, Australia
- Lena Waithe, United States
- Ryan James Yezak, United States
