Oscar winning actress, Sally Field has spoken out about her youngest son coming out via an open letter for the Human Rights Campaign.
Sally explained in her heartfelt letter that she was proud of three things in her life, her sons: Peter, Eli and Sam.
The 67-year-old went onto speak about her youngest son, Sam and how she has been proud to stand by him as he went through his journey of discovering his homosexuality.
“Sam is my youngest son, by 18 years, and he’s gay. To that, I say: So what?
Growing up, Sam wanted desperately to just be like his older brothers—athletic, rambunctious and even a little bit macho. He wanted to beat Eli at tennis, trounce Peter at computer football and learn everything about every basketball player on the court. But Sam was different. And his journey to allow himself to be what nature intended him to be was not an easy one.
When I saw him struggling, I wanted to jump in, but his older brothers held me back. They told me I couldn’t travel that road for Sam. It was his to travel, not mine. I had to wait for him to own himself in his own time. I could make it easier only by standing visibly to the side, clearly loving him, always being there and always letting him know.
Finally, at 20, long after he beat his brothers at tennis and computer games and knew as much as anyone about basketball, Sam was able to stand up proudly and say, ‘I am a gay man.’”
The actress completed letter urging those to support gay rights for her son and others like him.
“Why would anyone want to prevent my son—or anyone’s son or daughter—from having basic legal safeguards like family medical leave, Social Security survivors’ benefits, or health insurance? It doesn’t make any sense—but it won’t change until people speak out. I’m proud to stand with HRC to add my voice. Will you join me?”
