Robin Roberts revealed that she was initially hesitant to do an interview with then-President Barack Obama in 2012 because she realized she would have to disclose her life as a gay woman.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Roberts said on The Ellen DeGeneres Show that the interview happened in 2012, around the time Obama was about to reverse his opinion on marriage equality.
She said that she realized people might question why she was chosen to interview Obama, and she felt like the opportunity might lead to her having to publicly come out.
“[I was told] there was a possibility that [Obama] 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?'” she said.
She said she soon remembered that the interview was about more than just her discomfort.
“It was kind of like a scene out of Moonstruck: ‘Snap out of it, Robin,'” she said. “‘[W]hat 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 gonna stop letting fear keep me from the things that I want to do.”
"I'm so grateful that I did that [interview with Obama]. Shortly thereafter is when on Instagram, or on social media, that I talked about [partner Amber Laign] and all that fear I had of being a Christian, that people would look at me differently. [But] I was embraced," she said.
“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,” she continued. “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 b the reason why I’m not.”
