Wayne Brady: ‘Let’s Make A Deal’ star comes out as pansexual - what is pansexuality?

American comedian and actor, Wayne Brady has come out as pansexual. The Let’s Make a Deal host told People in a sit-down interview as he opened up about his sexuality and revealed that he’s “attracted across the board”.

Brady, who shot to fame for his role in ‘Whose Line Is It Anyway’ said: “I am pansexual…In doing my research, both with myself and just with the world, I couldn’t say if I was bisexual, because I had to really see what that was, especially because I really have not gotten a chance to act on anything.

“So, I came to pansexual because — and I know that I’m completely messing up the dictionary meaning — but to me, pan means being able to be attracted to anyone who identifies as gay, straight, bi, transsexual or non-binary. Being able to be attracted across the board.

“And, I think, at least for me right now, that is the proper place. I took pan to mean that not only can I be attracted to any of these people or types physically, but I could be attracted to the person that is there.”

Brady said he has been on a self-discovery journey in the last decade, which was prompted by the death of fellow comedian Robin Williams in 2014 and his own debilitating battle with depression.

He told People: “I did all the therapy I could do. I was treated for love addiction. It’s a part of my journey. I had to start examining why I was looking for myself and happiness in a slew of people.

"And so, in doing that work, I now know absolutely that love addiction is born of trauma. I can’t feel any shame around that, just like I wouldn’t shame somebody if they said they were addicted to meth or cocaine. That’s a sickness."

He said while participating in therapy, he found himself wondering if he was gay. He said: “And the answer was no because despite having been in all of these unsuccessful relationships and now dealing with what I know can be diagnosed as love addiction, I started to go, ‘Okay, I’m feeling something, but I just don’t know how to get there.’ And then I felt like a fraud.”

Brady, who says he’s single and open-minded, first came out to his ex-wife Taketa, 47 (whom he still lives with), and his daughter Maile, 20. Currently, he is filming a reality series about his blended family, starring him and his daughter, his ex-wife, and her new partner, Jason Fordham.

What is pansexuality?

According to Medical News Today, people who identify as pansexual typically can feel an attraction to anyone, including individuals who do not identify as a specific gender. For example, people with a pansexual orientation may feel an attraction to someone who is agender. They might equally find a female, male, or gender-fluid person attractive.

However, identifying as pansexual does not mean feeling attracted to everyone, just as a heterosexual male does not feel an attraction to every female, and vice versa.