Minnesota news anchor Jason Hackett recently attended a basketball game with his partner of five years. And for the first time, he didn't care if anyone was watching them.
“He had his hand on my knee, and we were obviously together and I didn’t give a damn about what people thought,” Hackett, 36, tells TODAY.com.
“A lot has changed in the last two months,” he adds.
In May, Hackett came out as gay on NBC affiliate KARE 11’s “Sunrise” show, where he’s worked since January 2023.
“I lived in this glass closet where my friends and coworkers knew I was gay, but never my audience,” Hackett, a 13-year broadcast veteran, explains. “I kept it to myself.”
Hackett says there were knots in his stomach before the camera threw to him on the morning of May 3.
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“There was a moment where I was like, ‘Oh my God, am I really going to do this?’” Hackett recalls. “When that red light came on, my heart was beating through my chest."
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Then, he says, "the words started flowing."
“Coming out to people is never easy for me. I’m so nervous right now. I’m not going to lie,” Hackett told viewers. “This is no doubt the most people I’ve ever come out to at once. But what me … and everyone here on ‘Sunrise’ strive for, is authenticity. And I can’t preach that without being my authentic self.
“For anyone that is watching this now, who is struggling to find acceptance, or struggling with their family or friends, take it from me, a gay Black son of immigrants, the road may not be easy, I won’t lie to you and say that it is — but don’t worry, keep going,” he continued. “You’re going to make it.”
Hackett’s co-anchor Alicia Lewis was visibly emotional while meteorologist John Zeigler, gestured to goose bumps on his arm.
“I’m so proud of you,” Zeigler said.
Hackett says he left the studio feeling “100 pounds lighter.”
“A huge weight had been lifted off of my shoulders,” Hackett says. “I was so relieved. It feels like gay people are constantly coming out to new people — you come out to your barber, and your butcher — and it’s scary every single time. Now that I’ve come out to the entire world, I don’t have to worry anymore.”
Hackett says he has received messages of support from all around the world. He notes that many of the people who have reached out are of Caribbean descent and can relate to his experience.
Hackett’s parents are from Jamaica, a country that he describes as not especially “LGTBQ+-friendly.”
“The first time I came out was to my mom when I was 19, and then we didn’t talk about it for a while. I think she was hoping it was a phase and that I just hadn’t found the right girl yet,” Hackett reveals. “A few years later, I came out again. I wrote them a letter, and that didn’t go over too well. I should have had a face-to-face conversation, but I was scared.”
The third time Hackett came out to his parents, he showed them a picture of his boyfriend.
“That’s when it really set in for them,” Hackett says.
Though Hackett’s mom and dad haven’t met his partner, he hopes that one day they will.
“I’m not mad at my parents, and I don’t blame my parents. I know it’s tough,” he says. “Things are starting to get a little better. My mom isn’t in a place of full acceptance, but there’s never been any doubt that my parents love me.”
Hackett wants LGBTQ+ youth who are struggling to hold on, and he wants them to know his Instagram DMs are open.
“I know what it feels like to think, ‘I’m never going to find acceptance. I have to change who I am or I’m going to have to hide forever,” Hackett says. “Know that there is light at the end of the tunnel. Live freely and love openly and be proud of who you are. It really does get better."
This story first appeared on TODAY.com. More from TODAY:
