Joey Graceffa Shares His Experience with an ‘Amazing Race’ Producer Pressuring Him to Come Out on Camera
More than a decade after his journey on *The Amazing Race*, Joey Graceffa has reflected on a challenging experience with a producer from the CBS reality competition series. In a recent interview, the YouTube star described his time on Seasons 22 and 24 as “truly traumatizing,” citing pressure to publicly come out as LGBTQ before he felt ready.
“*The Amazing Race* was a lot of fun, but it was truly traumatizing. It’s crazy,” Graceffa told *OUT Magazine*. “They wanted me to come out on the show!”
Graceffa recounted a conversation with a gay producer who encouraged him to be open about his sexuality. “He was like, ‘You should come out on the show.’ I was like, ‘I’ll come out if you write me that $1 million check at the finish line!’ That didn’t happen. I would not have been ready back then,” he said.
Meghan Camarena, Joey Graceffa, Brendon Villegas, Rachel Reilly, Margie O’Donnell, Luke Adams, Mark Jackson, Leo Temory, Jamal Zadran, Nate ‘Big Easy’ Lofton, Herbert ‘Flight Time’ Lang, Jet McCoy, Cord McCoy, Jennifer Wayne, Caroline Cutbirth, Phil Keoghan, Connor O’Leary, David O’Leary, Mallory Ervin, Jessica Hoel, John Erck, Natalie Anderson and Nadiya Anderson on Season 24 of ‘The Amazing Race’ (Sonja Flemming/CBS via Getty Images)
Competing alongside Meghan Camarena, Graceffa’s team was eliminated in seventh place during Season 22 in 2013. They finished third in Season 24 the following year.
Graceffa publicly came out as gay in a 2015 video titled “YES I’M GAY,” following the release of his music video for “Don’t Wait,” which featured a romantic moment with another man.
