“Supernatural” actor DJ Qualls recalls coming out at work in 2015: 'I deserve respect because I give it'

“Supernatural” actor DJ Qualls recalls coming out at work in 2015: 'I deserve respect because I give it'

"Why should I have to be at craft service and hear a bunch of homophobic sh--?" asks the actor, who came out publicly in 2020.

DJ Qualls opened up about his coming out journey, sharing that overhearing homophobic comments on set emboldened him to disclose his sexuality with coworkers.

"I’ve been out since 19 or 18, but not here because it wasn’t cool when I got here," the actor said of Hollywood on the latest episode of Michael Rosenbaum's Inside of You podcast. "My very first press junket, the guy who was our executive producer, a very famous director-producer, told Seann William Scott he almost didn't hire him because he thought was a f—."

Related: Supernatural stars DJ Qualls and Ty Olsson are engaged: 'We’re going to be old men together'

"That’s the way it was," said Qualls. "I wasn’t out at work until I think 2015. I just didn’t want to deal with it. But then one day I realized, why should I have to be at craft service and hear a bunch of homophobic sh-- wrecking my day? Then I was like, hey I don't want to hear that. And I get it, it's guy talk, and they don't think about the context of it. But I don't want to hear it."

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"I wouldn’t correct you in front of a group of people," added Qualls, "but I definitely will pull you aside and say, 'Hey, I'm gay.'"

Qualls said he was "cognizant" of "owning my space at my work," adding, "I'm there to do a job. I'm hired because I do that job well, and I deserve respect because I give it." Qualls does not consider himself the "thought police," but "if I'm hearing 'f--' nine times from you when I’m trying to butter a bagel, I don't want to hear that."

Qualls publicly came out following an appearance on Comedy Central's The Jim Jefferies Show in 2020 and later confirmed the announcement on social media. "Yep, I’m gay," Qualls wrote. "Been gay this whole time. Tired of worrying about what people would think of me. Tired of worrying about what it would do to my career."

<p>Charley Gallay/Getty</p> DJ Qualls

Charley Gallay/Getty

DJ Qualls

Related: Jared Padalecki says Supernatural series finale is 'my favorite episode of all-time'

The actor is best known for his roles in the comedy film Road Trip and sci-fi The Core, and has made appearances on shows Breaking Bad, Scrubs, and, of course, Supernatural. In the latter, he played Garth Fitzgerald, a hunter turned werewolf, and paralleled that on-screen transition to navigating his coming out.

“That was a really hard thing I had been dragging around,” Qualls told Variety in 2020. “I had been reinforced by a lot of people in the entertainment industry who either told me not to do it or said really negative things in front of me when I was a young actor that assured me it wasn’t cool to be myself and if I wanted this job I couldn’t be that. Now we’re in a place where it’s a different world — and newly so."

"When I was on set, I really did make that parallel," added Qualls. "Garth is also ‘other’ in this world, and he loves these people that he wants to love him back, and it’s a really beautiful thing in the way that the boys and Garth have been able to navigate that. I want that for the rest of us in this world: ‘I’m not like you, but I love you anyway.'"

In May, Qualls announced that he was engaged to fellow Supernatural actor Ty Olsson, whom he met at a fan convention for the series.

Watch Qualls' podcast interview above.

Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly.