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<\/p>\nBroadway Actor Hernando Umana: \u2018I am a Proud Gay Man Living with HIV\u2019<\/b>
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Broadway actor Hernando Umana came out as HIV-positive in a moving Instagram post intended to help battle the stigma faced by gay<\/a> men<\/a> who are scared to tell people about their status. Umana performed in the original Broadway production and first national touring production of Kinky Boots<\/em>, and in School of Rock<\/em>\u2018s first national tour.<\/p>\n Wrote Umana: \u201c::takes deep breath:: This is by far the most important, scary, liberating post of my life. Here we go- 10 years ago, at a young young age of 20, I was diagnosed with HIV. I\u2019ll never forget the moment they told me. It wasn\u2019t possible- I had only slept with 3 people in my life! This can\u2019t be true. The first words out of my mouth were \u201chow long do I have to live<\/a>?\u201d That\u2019s how uneducated I was about it.\u201d<\/p>\n He added: \u201cIt had been drilled in my head that gay<\/a> people get HIV because of wrong doings and they deservingly die from it. Well I\u2019m here to shut that sh*t down. There is NOTHING wrong with me and I am healthier than I\u2019ve ever been. In the last 10 years I\u2019ve met countless of HIV positive men<\/a>. Some of these men<\/a> are so affected by the stigma that they don\u2019t tell a soul about their status, even go as far as not taking their medication.\u201d<\/p>\n Umana honored the HIV-positive gay<\/a> men<\/a> who came before him: \u201cIn our extremely privileged community the stigma is more dangerous than the disease. We still have a lot of fighting to do for the people who don\u2019t have the privilege of cost affective medication. So I stand on the shoulders of people like\u00a0@staleypr<\/a>\u00a0who risked his life for us. I stand on the shoulders of the millions of people who had to suffer and die from this disease. I stand on the shoulders of the gay<\/a> men<\/a> who were forced out of the closet in such a scary time. These men<\/a> and woman<\/a> fought and died to get to where we\u2019re at now- To take a pill at night and never have to worry about dying. To get the disease to a point where it is IMPOSSIBLE to transmit (undetectable). How can I be ashamed of this? I honor their legacy by telling my story.\u201d<\/p>\n He concluded: \u201cSo let\u2019s talk about it. Let\u2019s ask questions. Take your prep. Use condoms. Be SAFE. Let\u2019s end this stigma forever and eventually end HIV forever! To those who have questions- don\u2019t feel dumb asking anything about it. It\u2019s not your fault there\u2019s such a lack of education out there. To those who are afraid to talk about their status- you\u2019ve got at least one guy<\/a> right here The post Broadway Actor Hernando Umana: \u2018I am a Proud Gay Man Living with HIV\u2019<\/a> appeared first on Towleroad Gay News<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"?\"](\"https:\/\/s.w.org\/images\/core\/emoji\/11\/72x72\/1f642.png\")
you are LOVED. You are BEAUTIFUL and there is nothing wrong with you.\u00a0 I, Hernando Umana, am a proud gay<\/a> man<\/a> LIVING with HIV. F**k that feels good to say.\u00a0#actup<\/a>\u00a0#fightthestigma<\/a>\u00a0#endthestigma<\/a>\u00a0#hiv<\/a>#broadway<\/a>\u00a0#bcefa<\/a>\u00a0#mytruth\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n