Xuenou > Television > ‘American Idol’ Alum Sanjaya Malakar Comes out as Bisexual: ‘I Did Not Know’
‘American Idol’ Alum Sanjaya Malakar Comes out as Bisexual: ‘I Did Not Know’
Former American Idol star Sanjaya Malakar is opening up about his sexuality and the public discourse surrounding his time in the spotlight on Season 6 of the singing competition. Malakar, now 32, revealed in a new interview on The Adam Sank Show podcast that he identifies as bisexual, but said [...]

‘American Idol’ Alum Sanjaya Malakar Comes out as Bisexual: ‘I Did Not Know’

Former American Idol star Sanjaya Malakar is opening up about his sexuality and the public discourse surrounding his time in the spotlight on Season 6 of the singing competition. Malakar, now 32, revealed in a new interview on The Adam Sank Show podcast that he identifies as bisexual, but said he didn’t know that about himself when he was competing as a 17-year-old in 2006 and his sexuality was the topic of speculation among fans.

“I identify as bisexual,” said Malakar, who now works as a pastry chef and bartender. “At the time, I did not know, which was why it was so weird for me.” Growing up, Malakar said he was “the awkward theater kid” and “raised by women,” but was confused by people projecting ideas about his sexuality onto him at such a young age.

By the time he was on Idol, Malakar said he was in a serious relationship with his girlfriend. “I was exploring my life as a child, and then American Idol happened, and everyone was like, ‘Oh, he’s gay,'” he recalled. “And I was like, ‘OK, well now I have to say no, because at this point they’re forcing me to make a decision and define myself.'”

He continued, “At that time, that was a big thing as well, ’cause I grew up in a time when being called a f-t in school was the worst thing that could ever happen to you. You had to be as hyper-masculine as possible to fit in, and coming up in 2007, it was like, ‘Being gay is OK, but you have to define yourself, and there’s this or that.'” Malakar’s team during his Idol days were also pressing him to “be ambiguous” about his sexuality and dating life so as not to lose fans. “And I’m like, ‘OK, but why am I manipulating what I know of myself to figure out what kind of fans I’m going to get because I’m still trying to discover who I am?'” he asked on the podcast. 

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Today, Malakar is comfortable with his sexuality but has not come out to his parents. “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,'” he said, noting that his family is “not the kind of people I really need to come out to formally.” As for his relationship status at the moment, the former reality star noted he’s “single, but it’s complicated all the time.”