Gay TikTok star Luke Hamnett tells bullied kids, "It does get easier" - LGBTQ Nation

"I looked like the typical person you would bully: I had ginger hair, glasses, goofy teeth, and I was gay. Well, I was trying to deal with my sexuality. I used to try to make them laugh as much as possible in order to get in on the joke rather than being the joke, even though it did hurt me a lot."

"I didn't know what my feelings were, and it really scared me, especially coming out in 2007 - the world has since changed. He got so much hate for it. They used to shout loads of stuff at him, and I remember thinking he was so brave because I knew I was gay, too, and I didn't want the same heat."

"It was so overwhelming, I thought, 'I don't know how to react to this.' I don't find this a job, I find it really fun."

Luke Hamnett, a 33-year-old British TikTok creator, rose to internet fame during the pandemic with humorous videos that garnered millions of views. A former insurance salesman from Stoke-on-Trent, Hamnett now earns significantly more through brand partnerships than his previous commissions. His viral success includes a 2021 video pretending to be a child's mother that reached 100,000 views in under an hour. Despite current success, Hamnett endured severe bullying throughout childhood due to his appearance and sexuality. He developed humor as a defense mechanism to avoid being the target of jokes. At 15, he confided in a close friend about his sexuality, though he remained closeted publicly, witnessing another student face significant backlash for coming out.

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