Sunday 15 May 2022 09:43 AM Megan Barnard outed as a lesbian by disgraced colleague in sexist group chat ... trends now
Megan Barnard has broken her silence after being outed by a Fox Sports colleague in a leaked video in March.
Barnard, who has worked for the company since 2013, has been one of Australia's main sports presenters for women's cricket. She also hosts and presents news about the NRL for the station.
Her former colleague Tom Morris was sacked after a leaked video surfaced where he revealed Barnard's sexual orientation to a Whatsapp group on social media.
Speaking to Stellar magazine, Barnard said she feared publicly coming out because it could impact her career and gave an insight into her discovering her own sexuality.
'I knew I was gay from the age of 12... It was such a painful time during my teens, feeling what I was feeling and desperately wanting those thoughts to go away and to be like everyone else,' Barnard told the outlet.
Megan Barnard has broken her silence to Stellar after being outed by former Fox Sports collegaue Tom Morris in March
'I tried to fight it for years because we had all been taught that being gay 'wasn't normal'. It was just so overwhelming, it was the elephant in the room. There were times [when] I thought I just didn't want to exist, it was that hard.
'It took me more than a decade to come out, and I'm just grateful I hung in there and didn't fall off the edge.'
She advocates for acceptance and respect, and said no one should be forced to come out before they're ready.
Barnard, who moved from the Gold Coast to Sydney to follow her dreams, said she had been inundated with messages of people sharing their own experiences and hesitation to come out.
'I've tried to respond to everyone [who] has contacted me. And if this resonates with just one person and makes them realise it's OK to be gay – that it's not something to hide or run from – then sitting down for this article has been worth it.'
Barnard, who moved from the Gold Coast to Sydney to follow her dreams, said she had been inundated with messages of people sharing their own experiences and hesitation to come out.
Barnard admitted she delayed revealing her sexuality publicly because she was concerned it could impact her job prospects.
'I used to worry that if my bosses knew, it would limit my work opportunities and my sexuality would isolate me... but it hasn't,' she told Stellar.
The public outing brought a lot of pain and anguish for Barnard. She said it made her realise Australia still has a long way to go.
She said it made her realise people in positions of power in this country still believe being gay is a choice.
Despite the anguish that came with being publicily outed, Barnard said it had been good for her in some ways as it made her realise she is comfortable with herself.
She is proud of who she is, she said.
Bernard resurfaced a couple of weeks after the
