“My legs were shaking…”

Frédéric Lopez has always been discreet about his private life. But, in 2016, the host wanted to reveal his homosexuality to the public in his show A thousand and one liveswhile he received the author and drag queen, Pascal Pellegrino. The presenter had something clicked and then felt the need to lift the veil on his sexual orientation…

Frédéric Lopez: this trigger that pushed him to reveal his homosexuality

Hearing Pascal Pellegrino's testimony about his same-sex parenting, Frédéric Lopez realized that it was important to raise awareness on the subject of homosexuality and that his notoriety perhaps gave him the power to advance the issues. mentalities. “I knew the numbers and I knew that there was the highest rate of suicide among teenagers when they discover they are gay. Because it's the fear of rejection, quite simply. And I said to myself: 'But what's stopping me from talking about it?'”, he recalled on YouTuber Ben Névert's show.

“There are people who are kicked out of their homes. The Le Refuge association takes in these kids who are rejected by their family (the association received 5,217 calls and 1,721 requests for accommodation in 2023 according to the activity report, editor's note). I told myself that my testimony could help“, he added. The former presenter of Meet in unknown land knows he has an audience”who likes what he does” : “They will perhaps say to themselves: 'Ah well, if he does too then...'”

The host does not regret having lifted the veil on his private life and was able to see that his speaking out had helped more than one: “I have had incredible testimonies, really very moving. People who told me that they had accepted it, that they had told their parents who they really were. It was beautiful“.

Why did Frédéric Lopez wait to come out? “I was afraid that…”

But why did Frédéric Lopez wait to speak openly about his homosexuality? “At the time, I was afraid that my son would be made fun of at school, I was afraid that he would suffer“. But when his son, Victor, now 26 years old, left school, the host ofA Sunday in the countryside took his courage in both hands.

“I said to myself, 'Come on, I can do it.' My legs were shaking, because I never talk about myself in interviews and I didn't want it to be the most important thing, even though it's a detail.“. From now on, the presenter feels free of a weight: “I had a hard time accepting my popularity for a long time because I told myself that people don't know this detail and that maybe it would change something for them. So when I said it, I told myself that like that, people would love me in full“. A revelation which has therefore “completely changed his relationship with the public“…for the best!