Misha Brown, a 37-year-old influencer, actor, and host of the Wondery podcast The Big Flop, revealed in a TikTok video on July 17 that he had received an apology from his former high school bully — 20 years after graduation — after the bully’s 15-year-old son came out as gay.
“Hey man, I just felt like I needed to tell you that I’m sorry I was a damn jerk in school,” the message read. “Really, I’m sorry. But I’ve been following what you’ve done lately and it’s really cool. I’m proud of you. You’re like really helping people. The reason I wanted to tell you all this is I’ve got a son now. He’s 15, and he told me he’s gay. Man, all I thought about when he told me that was how I hope people are nicer to him than I was to you. It makes me proud to be his dad. And hopefully that makes up for something.”
Brown grew emotional as he shared the message, his eyes welling and his voice breaking.
“I would say that makes up for something, and I told him as much, but, wow. What a cool feeling to get that moment. I guess people can change,” Brown said in the video, which has since earned over 2.4 million views on TikTok.
Brown told PEOPLE he “didn’t know what to expect” when he first saw the message.Ā
“I couldn’t think of a single reason as to why he’d reach out,” he said. “But there it was, and I opened it.”
Brown eventually reached out to his former bully and accepted the apology.
Growing up in a small town in Western New York, Brown stood out as a kid who loved Whitney Houston songs and Polly Pocket toys. He says he was bullied early on for not fitting masculine stereotypes.
“Being bullied as a child truly shaped the entire experience of growing up,” he told the magazine. “I overanalyzed every part of myself. How was I standing? Was I too loud? Was I safe in my surroundings?”
Brown told PEOPLE that after nearly two decades of healing, introspection, and sobriety, he learned to embrace himself and block out negativity — lessons he now shares with his 4 million social media followers.
Brown, author of the upcoming book Be Your Own Bestie (out next February), said parents of LGBTQ youth often share his content with their children to show they deserve a full, authentic life.
Brown hopes his reconciliation with his former bully can inspire others in similar situations.
“So many people have struggled through similar experiences, and maybe they can find a little healing of their own through this apology from my bully,” he said. “We can’t change other people or will them to give us retribution, but we can control how we show up for ourselves. I’m grateful that I got this moment, but I’m more lucky that I am in a place to accept it.”
The state of Iowa will pay $85,000 to settle a lawsuit brought by a group of LGBTQ teens who were expelled from the Iowa Capitol during a 2020 advocacy trip organized by Iowa Safe Schools, after a dispute over bathroom access.
The lawsuit, filed in 2022, claimed that about 150 students and chaperones were unfairly ejected while visiting the Capitol to meet with legislators.
Nate Monson, then the executive director of Iowa Safe Schools, told The Des Moines RegisterĀ that state troopers barred a smaller group of students from using bathrooms that matched their gender identity and directed them instead to a gender-neutral restroom elsewhere in the Capitol.
Owners of several D.C. LGBTQ bars and nightclubs say the federal takeover of the cityās police force -- and the surge of federal agents stationed on 14th Street NW and along the U Street corridor -- cost them thousands of dollars in lost business this past weekend.
Mark Rutstein, co-owner of Crush Dance Bar at 14th and U Streets NW, told CBS affiliate WUSA that August 15 was the worst Friday the bar has seen since opening last year. He estimated losses to be approximately $15,000 for the night.
Rutstein told The Advocate that Crush sat near a multi-agency checkpoint, including agents from the Department of Homeland Security, set up on Wednesday evening. Authorities reportedly made 45 arrests, 29 of them immigration-related.
Christina Aguilera has partnered with Grindr as part of the promotion for her upcoming headlining set at San Franciscoās Portola Music Festival on September 20. According to a September 15 announcement from the LGBTQ app, Aguilera -- dubbed Grindr's new āwingwomanā -- will lend her voice as a notification alert, letting users know theyāve got a message from a potential match.
From September 15 to 22, Grindr will swap its iconic ābloopā notification for the opening notes of Aguileraās 1999 No. 1 hit āCome On Over Baby (All I Want Is You),ā promoting her Portola performance in the process.
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