Robin Roberts has revealed that she almost turned down her 2012 interview with Barack Obama out of fear of being outed.
The “Good Morning America” anchor interviewed then-president when he famously changed his stance on marriage equality. Roberts, who is gay, admitted in the most recent episode of "The Ellen Show" that she almost didn't accept the interview because she was afraid viewers would figure out her sexuality. She explained,
"There was a possibility that he would change his stance on marriage equality. I had not been public yet about being gay, and I was afraid that I might be outed, that people might wonder, 'Why is she the one interviewing the President when he's making this change in his stance?'"
Roberts said what spurred her to overcome her fears and tackle the conversation anyways was the reminder of all the good it would bring to the LGBTQ+ community. She continued,
"And then it was kinda like a scene out of 'Moonstruck,' slap, you know, snap out of it! 'Robin what are you thinking? It's not about you. This man is going to impact countless lives.' And it was at that moment that I said, 'I'm going to stop letting fear keep me from the things that I want to do.'"
Roberts came out officially in 2013, a year after the interview. She said she is "so grateful" that she went through with it, and when she was nervous she would not be accepted, she was amazed by the outpouring of acceptance afterwards.
"Again, if we just stop and think about how many times we let fear keep us on the sidelines and I’m so, so very glad that that’s no longer the case. I am not gonna get everything that I want in life, and I’m not going to accomplish everything, but by golly, fear is not going to be the reason why I’m not."
