Rosie Perez - H 2015
AP ImagesRosie Perez revealed she identifies as “quasi-straight” in a speech she gave at the TrevorLIVE event in New York City.
At the event, hosted by national LGBT youth organization The Trevor Project, Perez talked about the importance of teens having people to speak with about their sexuality.
“Every human being, whether they want to admit it or not, went through a period of questioning,” said The View host. “I know I did.”
She recounted a same-sex relationship she had with a girl in her junior high school named Michelle. “All I wanted to do was hump her,” said Perez. “And I suppressed the urge and suppressed the urge and suppressed the urge until Michelle one day started humping on me.”
Perez, who is now married to Eric Haze, said that when she and Michelle broke up, they also stopped being friends. Perez felt like she had nobody to speak with about her sexuality.
“I’m not the only one that went through this questioning period. I’m not the only one that suppressed those feelings, who hid their story,” she said. “I know I’m not lesbian, gay or whatever — I’m a quasi-straight person — I still went through that period. And I thought I was all alone.”
Speaking to the importance of The Trevor Project’s crisis hotline, Perez said, “I didn’t have a community. I didn’t have The Trevor Project.”
“If I had other people, specifically adults, if I was just able to call up and they said, ‘Oh, I humped the Michelle-type person, too. You’re normal, don’t worry. You’re either gonna go here, there or in the middle. Don’t worry about it. It’ll pass. You’re just figuring it out,’ even that simple statement, … that would have made all the difference in the world.”
