Exclusive: Darren Young Recalls Vince McMahon’s Reaction To Him Coming Out As Gay

Darren Young was known for making “million dollar moves” in WWE, but made a huge personal one when he came out as gay several years ago.

Young was one of the company’s first openly gay superstars, after revealing the news himself. He said that initially he panicked and called several people, but was contacted by WWE Chairman Vince McMahon almost immediately after the story broke.

“Vince McMahon was one of the first people who reached out to me right away when I came out publicly. He talked to me and genuinely had a great conversation for about 20 minutes. He talked about how his best friend, Pat Patterson, is gay, and how he respected my decision to come out,” Young said.

We didn’t necessarily see elements of Young’s sexuality implemented into his WWE character. That was fine with with Young himself, but devastating later on when he saw LGBTQ advancements within the company made without him. He was fired in 2017 and subsequently excluded.

“Vince at the time didn’t want it to be a storyline, which I was cool with. I was out and I was myself. I didn’t have to wrestle behind a wrestling promo voice. I could just be myself. I was cool with it. When I got released in 2017, I was more devastated that I was released and they put the LGBTQ colors on a good friend of mine in Finn Balor. It broke my heart. I wasn’t invited to WrestleMania to see the moves they were making. I cried like a baby, man. I was told I was always a part of the WWE family, and I wasn’t invited. I wish when I was a part of the company for so long they could have let me be myself or let me embrace the LGBTQ community. We need more representation. I don’t celebrate being gay, I celebrate my life being free from hate and persecution,” said Darren Young, before citing Sonny Kiss, Sonya Deville, Parrow and others as good points of representation,” said Young.

Young, who often goes by his real name Fred Rosser, continues working the independent circuit, and flies the LGBTQ flag proudly. Along the way, he’s worked with the likes of Jack Swagger, Elijah Burke, Kevin Nash and others as he continues his journey.

You can see our full interview with Young above.