Actor Daniel Newman came out gay
Thursday on Twitter.
“I'm OUTandPROUD #LGBT Love you
guys,” he messaged. “Be proud to be yourself. We need everyone
just the way you are! I'll chat with you guys tonight.”
Newman, who plays Kingdom member Daniel
on AMC's The Walking Dead, later posted a video of himself in
which he explained his decision to come out.
He said that he was inspired to come
out by a young girl who thanked him for volunteering at an LGBT youth
program despite being straight.
“And I said, 'I'm not straight,' and
she said, 'Why have you never said that publicly before? You could
help change our lives,'” Newman
said.
“It hit me like a gut punch. It felt
like someone had knocked the wind out of me.”
In comments to PEOPLE,
Newman said that he grew up in a “very conservative southern
Georgia home” where you “don't talk about your private life.”
“I’ve seen such a revolution in the
last five years of the LGBT community – it’s been such a
transformation. It’s gone from something that was a negative thing
before to something that is so celebrated and a part of our culture
now,” he said. “Even though I felt before that I couldn’t talk
about my private life, I was like, 'You know what, this is something
that everyone should be comfortable with, being 100 percent
themselves and authentic.'”
Newman added that his boyfriend is
“amazing.”