‘The Batman’ Star Charlie Carver Felt Unsafe At School For Being Gay

Charlie Carver admitted that he felt unsafe at school due to his sexual orientation.

“The Batman” star recently received the GLSEN Gamechanger Award. The organization is dedicated to creating safe and inclusive schools for LGBTQ students. However, in Carver’s speech, he admitted that he didn’t feel safe when he was still studying at school simply for being gay.

“There was just this abiding sense that school wasn’t safe or more than anything, if I let my guard down and if I fully relaxed into a state of belonging that something swift and terrible would come and find me,” he said (via Variety).

“And I recognize now that that thing I was so afraid of, the thing I was sort of running from and trying to manage, was my own shame. LGBTQ kids really suffer from the shaming they interject on the internet, often at school and sadly sometimes at home and it affects them for the rest of their lives.”

Despite all the hardships, Carver recognized the LGBTQ people’s resilience in “thinking compassionately, acting courageously, working creatively and living in a community.” However, he also acknowledged the fact that those qualities only develop when the person lives in a safe and encouraging environment.

Carver revealed his sexual orientation on Instagram in 2016. In his post, he shared a photo with a message that read, “Be who you needed when you were younger.” He wrote a lengthy caption in which he shared the things he wanted when he was a young boy.

Carver wanted to be an actor, painter, soccer player and even a Stegosaurus. Among all those things, it was acting that stuck with him. Furthermore, he knew he was somewhat different from the other boys in his grade.

“Over time, this abstract ‘knowing’ grew and articulated itself through a painful gestation marked by feelings of despair and alienation, ending in a climax of saying three words out loud: ‘I am gay’,” he wrote.

“I said them to myself at first, to see how they felt. They rang true, and I hated myself for them. I was twelve. ”

In 2018, the “Teen Wolf” star told People that he was ready to come out as gay to his dad and twin brother, Max, who both told him they “already knew.” The tricky part of his coming out was his mom because he didn’t want to reinjure her following the pain she went through because of her divorce.