Mean Girls actor Daniel Franzese comes out of the closet

Yo go, Daniel.  Yo go!

Daniel Franzese officially came out of the closet through a letter to his Mean Girls character, Damian.  On Indiewire.com, Franzese addresses why it took him ten years since playing the now-iconic, openly gay character and how the fans of the film made him comfortable enough to be open and honest with himself and his audience.

Franzese wrote in his letter, "I was twenty-six; you were sixteen.  You were proud of who you were; I was an insecure actor.  You became an iconic character that people looked up to; I wished I'd had you as a role model when I was younger. I might've been easier to be gay growing up."

After admitting to having been terrified to take on the role,  He went on to writing that the character was extremely different than most gay parts in films he had seen.  He wrote, "This was a natural and true representation of a gay teenager - a character we laughed with instead of at."

With the success the film received and the cult following it has now accumulated, Franzese has seen the difference he has made.  Franzese wrote, "It wasn't until years later that grown men started to coming up to me on the street - some of them in tears - and thanking me for being a role model to them. Telling me I gave them comfort not only being young and gay but also being a big dude. It was then that I realized how much of an impact YOU had made on them."

It has been ten years since his legendary role and it has made a world of difference for the actor.  He wrote, "Being a queer artist is one of my favorite things about myself. I have always been different and that's rad."

He closed his open letter with, "P.S.  I hate it when people say I'm "too gay to function."  I know you do, too. Those people are part of the problem.  They should refrain from using that phrase. It really is ONLY okay when Janis says it."