Actor Kal Penn Comes Out Gay; Reveals He's Engaged
- By
- On Top Magazine Staff
- | November 02, 2021
Actor Kal Penn has come out gay.
Penn, 44, is best known for his role as Kumar Patel in the Harold & Kumar film series. He also worked in the Obama administration in the White House Office of Public Engagement.
Penn, who is promoting his memoir You Can't Be Serious, told People magazine that he is engaged to his partner of 11 years, Josh.
“I discovered my own sexuality relatively late in life compared to many other people,” Penn told the outlet. “There's no timeline on this stuff. People figure their shit out at different times in their lives, so I'm glad I did when I did.”
Penn said he thought his relationship with Josh was a dead-end on the first date because Josh brought over beer and sat down to watch NASCAR.
"I thought, 'This obviously is not going to work out,'" he said. "I have one day off from The White House and this dude is unironically watching cars go around and make left turns? Next thing you know, it's been a couple months and we're watching NASCAR every Sunday. I'm like, 'What is happening?' I wanted the reader to enjoy the love and the humor through all of those stories."
Penn added that his upcoming wedding will be a compromise.
"Obviously I am engaged to a man and our families will be there for the wedding,” he said. “The big disagreement now is whether it's a huge wedding or a tiny wedding. I want the big ass Indian wedding. Josh, hates attention, [has said], 'Or we could just do quick 20-minute thing with our families and that's it.' So we have to meet halfway in the middle."
Penn's book arrives November 2.