Gillum and his wife, R. Jai, gave an emotional interview to Hall about the night of February 13, when police, responding to a “possible drug overdose” discovered the democratic politician in a compromised, “inebriated” state, according to police.
In the days following the incident, rumors about Gillum and his companion, identified as Travis Dyson, grew: Gillum and Dyson arrived at the hotel together, why were they together? Gillum borrowed someone else’s credit card to book the room, why? Where was Gillum wife? Was Gillum using meth too?
In a statement days later Gillum claimed he was in town for a wedding, but Dyson told The Miami New Times, “I personally was not celebrating a wedding. I don’t know if Gillum was in town for a wedding. He did not mention that.”
On Monday’s episode of the Tamron Hall Show Gillum felt the need to address his sexuality because of the rumors, “To be very honest with you, when you didn’t ask the question, you put it out there is whether or not I identify as gay. And the answer is I don’t identify as gay, but I do identify as bisexual, and that is something that I have never shared publicly before,” Gillum told Hall.
“Everyone believes the absolute worst about that day. At this stage, I don’t have anything else to have to conceal.
“I literally got broken down to my most bare place, to the place where I wasn’t even sure that I wanted to live. Not because of what I had done but because of everything that was being said about me.”
“What was most hurtful was this belief that I was somehow living a lie in my marriage and in my family. That was the most hurtful to me. Because I believe we are all entitled to mistakes, and I believe we are entitled to those mistakes without having every other respectable and redeeming part of our lives invalidated.”
Gillum was considered a rising star in the Democratic Party even after he lost the 2018 governor’s race in Florida to Ron DeSantis. It will be interesting to see if this revelation will hurt future political aspirations.
