Anthony Bowens Shares How ‘He’s Gay!’ AEW Viral Moment Came About

AEW

After a heartwarming AEW moment went viral with fans chanting, “He’s Gay!” at Anthony Bowens, the star opens up about how the moment came to be.

Speaking to David Dennis Jr. for ESPN Andscape, Anthony Bowens opened up about how he felt about the moment and also what it has meant to so many people.

Bowens said of how the segment came to be:

“[AEW wrestlers] Billy [Gunn] and Q.T. Marshall came to me and said, “Hey, we’ve got this segment. Would you be comfortable doing this?” And I said, “Absolutely.” Because my type of activism isn’t particularly in your face. I like to go out and just be me, exist as successfully as I can and be as visible as possible and authentic to me as I can. And if there is a time and a place where I feel like it would fit best, let’s go for it. And I felt like this was a really, really fun segment to do it in. I thought it also would be a monumental moment because no one’s ever said it inside of a wrestling ring.

“There’s always been, from an athlete perspective, a hint there, maybe a joke that references [someone being gay]. It was never just flat out blunt, like, “Hey, I’m gay.” And I thought, screw it. This would be a great time for it to be done. And also a relatable thing for people who are in the position that I used to be in, who are scared to come out and didn’t have somebody to look towards as a role model, an LGBT role model for them.”

However, according to Bowens he actually didn’t know what to expect from the crowd in the moment but he was pleasantly surprised by their warm reception.

Anthony Bowens said:

“I didn’t know what to expect at all. I didn’t think they would boo. I thought maybe there’d be a smattering of hand claps or something. But the reaction really, really blew me away. And you can see in the camera shots where I’m smiling, laughing because I was like, this is so crazy.

“Never, ever, ever in a million years would I think that a chant like that would break out in the most positive of ways. It was a fantastic moment.

“I wish I was able to go back and tell 17-, 18-, 19-year old Bowens that everything was going to be okay and that he would have this amazing moment that all of these people would enjoy and also affect so greatly.

“The messages I’ve been getting are so emotional. It really, really struck a chord with a lot of people, and I’m so glad it did.”

Anthony Bowens continues to feature across AEW programming including Dynamite, Collision and most recently on tonight’s edition of AEW Rampage (June 30) where he ran out with ‘Daddy Ass’ Billy Gunn as the Acclaimed’s feud with QTV continues.

You can keep up with all the latest AEW news by clicking this link. 

#TheAcclaimed’s #Bowens_Official and #DaddyAss @RealBillyGunn make it to the ring for the save!

WATCH #AEWRampage on TNT! pic.twitter.com/Yv0HPPZH50

— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) July 1, 2023

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• Acclaimed
• Scissor Me Daddy Ass
• Anthony Bowens
• AEW

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