‘American Idol’s Sanjaya Malakar Comes Out as Bisexual
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American Idol Season 6 star Sanjaya Malakar recently came out as bisexual and opened up about his self discovery journey. He also talked about public perception of him during his time on the show back in 2007.
‘American Idol’s Sanjaya Malakar Comes Out as Bisexual
In a recent interview on The Adam Sank Show Podcast, Malakar shared that he identifies as bisexual, adding that when he was competing on American Idol, “I did not know, which was why it was so weird for me.”
“I always got along with theatre kids. I always got along with gay kids and girls, so I was like, ‘OK, these are my people,’” Malakar said, according to ET Canada. “But I don’t know. Everyone keeps telling me that I am gay, and I’m like, 7. I don’t even have any attraction to anyone, so why are you telling me this?”
The former contestant was in a relationship with a girl at the time of his audition for the show. When people assumed he was gay, he denied it. He said “because at this point they’re forcing me to make a decision and define myself.” Malakar added that his publicists at the time encouraged him to “be ambiguous” so as not to lose fans.
He said he hasn’t come out to his family yet, explaining, “For me, at this point I don’t really care about what people know of my sexuality, and if I got into a serious long-term relationship with a guy I would bring him to my family, and they’d be like, ‘Oh, cool.’”
SEE ALSO: SANJAYA MALAKAR SAYS THAT HE’S DONE BEING THE BUTT OF ‘AMERICAN IDOL’S JOKES
Malakar Is Working as a Pastry Chef, Bartender
Malakar had a huge following and was a popular topic during Season 6 of American Idol. Despite his popularity, the judges (particularly Simon Cowell) weren’t always impressed by his voice.
The singer auditioned with his sister Shyamali, who made it as far as Hollywood Week. He recently said he was tired of being the butt of the show’s jokes. At the time he said of the recent 20th anniversary reunion, “If I do come back, it would be really great if I was able to present myself as an artist, not as a reality-television joke.”
After making this request, Malakar was apparently told that his flight to Los Angeles would be too expensive to cover, so he didn’t participate in the reunion. He’s currently working as a pastry chef and bartender.
