Photo Credit: Daniel Zuchnik/Getty

Actor Malik Yoba is coming out and opening up about his sexuality.

The 51-year-old shared his thoughts on attraction and love for transgender women while weighing on the Maurice “Reese” Willoughby who committed suicide. Willoughby suffered from bullying for dating a trans woman.

Yoba shared on social media:

“I love ALL women AND count MYSELF among those that find themselves trans attracted and I too have felt the self imposed shame that comes with that truth but it’s time to speak up. It is NOT about GENITALIA OR SEX but about attraction to the soul and humanity of an individual and often the beauty that is in the courage and conviction to live ones truth! As a self identified cis heterosexual man I too am learning what it means to be trans attracted. Many of us famous and otherwise that have struggled with accepting our attraction so we do NOTHING.”
 

 

 

 

 

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Happy Labor Day Fam!! Thank you all who have reached out to me with love and support over the last 24 hours. Thank you @bet and all others who have spread this message of hope that it is ok to be who the FUCK you are no matter what other ppl say as long as you ain’t hurting nobody. Fear and shame should not be our gods. Freedom and love of all of HUMAN-ity should be the order of the day! SEE YOU IN DC FOR @transmarchondc AND Love + Trauma : The Trans Experience. Go to site for all upcoming details

A post shared by malikyoba (@malikyoba) on Sep 2, 2019 at 9:30am PDT

He also shared a video of Willoughby with the caption:

“ATTENTION BLACK AND ALL MEN!!! THIS IS NOT OK!!!!! This video is another heartbreaking example of the homophobia, transphobia hatred and hypocrisy WE as black folks, BLACK MEN, in particular, have to NAME, FACE and CALL OUT and do the work to heal!!!”

 

 

 

 

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ATTENTION BLACK AND ALL MEN!!! THIS IS NOT OK!!!!! This video is another heartbreaking example of the homophobia, transphobia hatred and hypocrisy WE as black folks, BLACK MEN in particular have to NAME , FACE and CALL OUT and do the work to heal!!! THIS IS EXACTLY WHY I WILL BE AT @transmarchondc hosting a workshop called LOVE + TRAUMA: The Trans Experience on Sept 27 2019 ( details TBD ) His name was Maurice “Reese” Willoughby, a 20 yr old baby who killed himself from an apparent drug overdose after his girlfriend left him due to abuse. Clearly as evidenced in this video this young man was confident in his choice to love who he loved but the uninformed young men around him haven’t been taught BY US that love is love and acceptance of Trans love is ok and bullying has nothing to do with masculinity or HETEROSEXUAL behavior. Ultimately his mental and emotional health was not intact enough and the fragility of his life as he saw it was too much to bear. Often times this type of shame and ridicule can lead to the murders of women of the trans experience . NOT OK!! Clearly he didn’t get the support of his peers who think that toxicity = masculinity and humanity. That being a “real man” means we must disrespect and demean those that FIND themselves attracted to women of the trans experience. The fact that he was trans attracted presumably meant that he had no safe space to go to find the support he needed to learn to navigate love of a woman of the trans experience in a world that constantly tells you you’re wrong. TRANS PEOPLE DESERVE LOVE AND RESPECT AS DO THOSE OF US THAT LOVE THEM!! I love ALL women AND count MYSELF among those that find themselves trans attracted and I too have felt the self imposed shame that comes with that truth but it’s time to speak up. It is NOT about GENITALIA OR SEX but about attraction to the soul and humanity of an individual and often the beauty that is in the courage and conviction to live ones truth! As a self identified cis heterosexual man I too am learning what it means to be trans attracted. Many of us famous and otherwise that have struggled with accepting our attraction so we do NOTHING. This MUST change

A post shared by malikyoba (@malikyoba) on Aug 26, 2019 at 6:08am PDT

We applaud Yoba for standing in his truth.