Sawyer Hemsley, co-founder and chief branding officer of Crumbl Cookies, recently came out as gay after an influencer’s viral TikTok speculated about his sexuality.
Hemsley, who launched the billion-dollar cookie chain in 2017 with his cousin Jason McGowan while a student at Utah State, has become a prominent face of the brand on TikTok.
Hemsley addressed the speculation in an Instagram post, writing, “[T]here have been people online trying to define me, twist things, and share conversations that feel harmful. Instead of letting others write my story, I want to share it in my own words. The truth is, over the past few years I’ve come to understand and accept that I’m gay.”
Hemsley’s announcement came after an August 22 TikTok by influencer Grant Gibbs speculated about his sexuality. That video went viral, amassing more than 19 million views.
“Y’all I’m dying,” Gibbs wrote in the caption, adding crying emojis. “[C]an someone fill me in on the tea with him because I have never seen a gayer man.”
In the video, Gibbs declared he didn’t believe Hemsley was straight: “That man is so gay. That man is gay to the gods. I don’t care if I’m outing a CEO with millions of dollars, I don’t give a fuck, but that’s a gay man.” (He later clarified he had misspoken in calling Hemsley the company’s CEO.)
Commenters piled on, with one writing: “i just checked the ‘crumbl cookie ceo’ after seeing him for 2 seconds I already knew.”
“He blocked me when I commented slay queen 💅 on an Instagram post,” wrote another TikTok user.
“He’s basically femme Lance Bass,” wrote a third, referring to the out gay former member of ’90s boy band NSYNC.
“The fact that you’re telling me this didn’t convince me… the fact that I found out that he’s an Utah Republican 100% convinced me. The repression is reeeeal,” wrote another user, referencing online voter records indicating that a 34-year-old Sawyer Hollingsworth Hemsley, of Orem, Utah, is registered Republican. It remains unclear whether those records are accurate or refer to the same person as the Crumbl co-founder.
Gibbs later posted a follow-up video, speculating that Hemsley was closeted to “protect his money.”
“As a gay man myself I want to see a successful gay CEO slay the boots house down,” Gibbs said. “But to act like you’re not, or to make it a whole hidden thing, it’s just like, it sucks.”
In his Instagram post, Hemsley reflected, “It’s taken me a long time to really process this part of myself and even longer to feel comfortable enough to say it out loud. For most of my life, I didn’t have the clarity to answer the questions or respond to the rumors. Coming to terms with it has been overwhelming and, at times, scary — but it has also brought me peace, joy, and authenticity that I wouldn’t trade for anything.”
Hemsley added that he still respects the values and religious beliefs he was raised with, which made his journey to self-acceptance “more complicated.”
“I know some people may have questions or even judgments, but my hope is that kindness, empathy, and love will lead the way. I’ve learned so much through this process — about strength, compassion, and the importance of living authentically,” he wrote.
After Hemsley came out, Gibbs posted a video congratulating the Crumbl co-founder, according to The Cut.
“Girl, I am so happy for you and so proud of you,” Gibbs said in a video filmed on a subway platform while waiting for a train, adding that it was never his intention to deliberately out Hemsley.
“You are hot and you are going to live your best open, out, gay life, mama,” he said.
D.C. police are searching for three men who allegedly hurled anti-trans slurs at 43-year-old Cayla Calhoun before brutally attacking her and leaving her with serious injuries.
Calhoun, a sommelier and bartender at Annabelle restaurant, left work around midnight on June 29 and stopped at the Golden Age, a nearby bar, for a quick beer, according to The Advocate.
After leaving Golden Age, Calhoun rode a Onewheel electric board through Georgetown and along Rock Creek Parkway. Near the National Mall, three men on scooters emerged and began shouting anti-LGBTQ slurs at her.
Organizers of the annual Nashville Pride Festival & Parade have launched a fundraiser to help sustain future events after several longtime sponsors withdrew their support.
In an Aug. 20 press release, Nashville Pride said sponsorship revenue is down $270,000 from previous years.
Nearly 40% of the festival's longtime sponsors withdrew support for this year's Pride -- some just days before the festivities kicked off in late June -- according to Nashville Public Radio station WPLN. Among them were Bridgestone Americas, a presenting sponsor for 11 years, and Nissan, which ended its presenting sponsorship after four years.
Police in Paris, France, have arrested a homeless Tunisian migrant accused of killing four men whose bodies were later found in the Seine River. The case began on August 13, when a commuter spotted a corpse floating in the river. Investigators subsequently recovered three more bodies from the same stretch of water.
Autopsies confirmed all four victims were men. At least two had been strangled, though forensic experts could not determine the exact cause of death for the others, according to The Times. Police are investigating the four deaths as homicides.
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