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Someone asked Tom Allen to stop talking about being gay – and his response was perfect

Oonagh Keating. Updated April 16th, 2019

Comedian Tom Allen often brightens our TV screens with his larger than life, sharp humour, appearing on panel shows regularly, where he demonstrates his quick wit. In his stand-up and his improvisation, as a gay man, his sexuality often features as an integral part of the comedy. One viewer took to Facebook to comment on it, and Tom shared his reply on Twitter:


“I guess I talk about it because it’s part of my identity. Straight people get to talk about theirs every five minutes at least – but you’d be exhausted if you messaged them too.”

“And since I was made to feel ashamed about it for most of my life (I’m still not over that now) and I get messages (every five to ten minutes) saying that it’s actually helped them by me being upfront about it, I might just keep going.”

“In a world where people are questioning whether children should be taught in schools that gay people even exist and where parts of the world want to stone people to death, I wonder if it might be more important than ever for us all to talk positively about who we truly are.”

The overwhelming conclusion was that Tom had, indeed, responded correctly.

Comedian, Iain Stirling – amongst others – said this:

Perhaps Tom should set that timer for three minutes, instead.