In late 2017, star of the reality show The Riveras, Johnny Lopez came out as bisexual by posting images of him and his boyfriend Joaquin. The images had been circulating and rather than let people tarnish his name and speak of his deceased mother, the legendary Mexican Regional singer Jenni Rivera.
Johnny’s news became the topic of controversy among his fans. In a video and images that have since been removed, Johnny shares his journey toward coming out:
I wanted to make this video first and for everyone to understand me but my boyfriend, as you all know, Joaquín, we both got a little too excited, and he posted a few pictures of us, and I retweeted them, and it went viral.
People began noticing that we were together. They didn’t come out exactly the way I wanted to but they’re out now. I am in a gay relationship right now and I am in love with this person. I’ve been dealing with this part of myself for a long time now.
In that time, I did experiment with girls, tried different things here and there. I still don’t know what my preference is personally.
But I do know that I love this person a lot, I’ve been in love with him for about two years now and I’m happy and it’s the happiest I’ve ever been.
I’ve dealt with this for so long and I never got to tell my mom about this side of myself.
And I know that’s the number one question in everyone’s mind, ‘What would your mom think?’
Days ago, Johnny uploaded a new video talking about sexuality where he shares that he and his longtime boyfriend have called it quits. In the video, Johnny discusses being bisexual and the struggles the Latino community have with the LGBTQ+ community. In the video, he shares that he has had experiences with both men and women, but the feels he most genuinely falls in love with human connection regardless of physical attractiveness. Oh, but he does mention he’s not pansexual and could never imagine himself with a trans person.
In the video’s description, Johnny writes:
I know a lot of you may not be able to follow what I was trying to get across and that’s fine lol I literally just couldn’t sleep and thought I’d use the platform I had to discuss this mainly because I know there’s lots of kids and people in general out there that feel a very similar way so I figured it’d be best to just record this in a very raw setting at 3am and just express my thoughts best I could. The main idea behind it was to start a conversation because that’s the way you get people to understand (keyword is UNDERSTAND) certain things, by talking about them. Hope I expressed myself well and if I didn’t, my bad. I’ll try better next time.
If you have similar thoughts, feelings, whatever, I encourage you to express them in the comments! The main idea was to start a conversation because that’s how you get people to understand (keyword UNDERSTAND not agree) certain things. I’m really interested to see everyone’s different thoughts on these subject matters. I really feel like it doesn’t get discussed enough in the Latino community. I’ll gladly be interacting with everyone in the comments and discussing your different thoughts. I also ask that we all try our best to remain respectful towards one another. Much love. – Angel
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZbVZEeLe6bc&t=794s
Johnny Lopez is only 18 years old, so it might be safe to say that he is still trying to figure all of this stuff out. I mean, people well into their 30s and 40s (and maybe even later) toil with their sexuality and/or never really grasp it completely. In his video, Johnny asks his fans to share their thoughts about sexuality, specifically, what they think about bisexuality. Many people feel that the B in LGBTQ is often ignored or left out because the queer community doesn’t fully understand (or accept) bisexual individuals.
Perhaps this is part of the sexual exploration–I mean, I dabbled in bisexuality in the first years after coming out. It was something that I felt I needed to do to really show myself where I truly lied. Now, that’s not to say that there isn’t a spectrum and we all fall somewhere on there, but I knew after time that labeling myself bisexual was only a front that was interfering with my happiness of truly being who I was.
So what do y’all think? What are your thoughts on bisexuality? Give some insight for our young Johnny who is inquiring.
Writer’s note: This is an opinion piece written by one of Instinct’s contributors and does not reflect the views or opinions of Instinct or any of its other writer.
Be happy who cares what people say DO YOU
I disagree that people toil with trying to figure out their sexuality into their 30’s and 40’s. That is a misconception and dangerous to put out there. People know what they feel and often times the conflict lies and what “others” will think or how it will be received. People go to therapy with issues with their sexuality not because they are confused, so much as because they have to learn to manage the many family, friends and society that still doesn’t fully understand or accept anything other than the heterosexual “norm.” It’s a negotiation of what you are feeling versus what we are thought we “should” feel. Is someone comes out as “straight” at 10 years old, no one ever says “it’s just a phase, they are still trying to figure themselves out.” It is clear when Johnny states that most people ask him “what would your mom think?” It’s the implication.
Don’t leave your boyfriend unless you know who you REALLY are