Comedian, writer and actress Amber Ruffin came out as part of the LGBTQ community on the final day of Pride Month.
Ruffin kicked off her entertainment career over two decades ago, according to AAE Speakers. She started at a local theater and improv center before relocating to Chicago to jumpstart her career. While in Chicago, Ruffin joined a comedy improv group that helped her gain notoriety while honing her writing and performance skills. She caught the attention of some influential people on the Late Night with Seth Myers team and was hired as a writer — making history as the first Black woman to write for a late-night talk show. In addition, she wrote for some Comedy Central shows like Detroiters and Drunk History.
Her career continued to evolve as she wrote The World Record Book of Racist Stories and You’ll Never Believe What Happened To Lacey with her sister Lacey Lamar. The latter book became a New York Times best-seller. She also hosted her own late-night TV show titled, The Amber Ruffin Show on Peacock TV.
On June 30, she came out via an Instagram post. In the post, she wore a purple tank top with the word “queer” on it and captioned the selfie, “In what will come as a shock to exactly zero people, I’m using the last day of PRIDE to come out! Be proud of who you are, little babies! I know I am! And I can’t wait to be discriminated against for a new reason!! 🏳️🌈🏳️🌈🏳️🌈🏳️🌈 🏳️🌈🏳️🌈🏳️🌈🏳️🌈🏳️🌈🏳️🌈🏳️🌈🏳️🌈🏳️🌈🏳️🌈🏳️🌈.”
She was met with much support from her followers, especially her peers in Hollywood.
“Welcome baby love!! bathrooms are to the left, refreshments to the right, grab a chair. The DJ takes requests.❤️,” Cynthia Erivo commented.
“Welcome home Amber!! Our team just keeps getting hotter and smarter!! Happy Pride, dear one 💞,” One Tree Hill star Sophia Bush chimed in.
“😂 Congratulations!!! Happy Pride! 🌈,” Kandi Burruss wrote.
Lena Waithe, Kalen Allen, Wanda Sykes and Ruffin’s former colleague Robin Thede also shared words of encouragement.
According to Vanity Fair, the news comes six months after Ruffin’s divorce was finalized; she was married to Dutch painter Jan Schiltmeijer for 13 years.
