Last Updated on September 14, 2020
Democrat Andrew Gillum, a former gubernatorial candidate in Florida, came out as a bisexual man on Monday, following months of speculation after he was found and photographed in a hotel room where an alleged gay escort suffered a crystal meth overdose.
In an interview released Monday, Gillum told interviewer Tamron Hall that “To be very honest with you, you didn’t ask the question, you put it out there, is whether or not I identify as gay. And the answer is, I don’t identify as gay, but I do identify as bisexual.”
Gillum continued, “And that is something that I have never shared publicly before.”
Former Florida governor candidate Andrew Gillum tells Tamron Hall he's bisexual: "That is something I have never shared publicly before" pic.twitter.com/prUW7NPk1C
— The Recount (@therecount) September 14, 2020
The Daily Mail released several disturbing photos of the hotel room allegedly violated by Gillum and a male prostitute that show various bodily fluids, trash, alcohol, and what appear to be both prescription pills and crystal meth strewn haphazardly throughout the hotel room.
At the time, independent Florida media also released a photo that appeared to be of Andrew Gillum laying down in the hotel room, nude, with vomit near his mouth. In correspondence between The Floridian and Gillum’s lawyers, the lawyers admitted the photo was of Gillum. The photo has since been taken down to comply with Gillum’s lawyers cease and desist order.
National File reported at the time:
Former Democrat Governor candidate Andrew Gillum was found naked with a group of people including a man who overdosed on methamphetamines.
Law enforcement sources in Florida confirmed in a report that the former candidate was involved in a situation that is suspected to have been an orgy that ended with a meth overdose.
Those found with former candidate Gillum were also reported to be naked in the police reports. The orgy scenario is not formally confirmed, but inferred considering the nature of the police report that took place in a Beachfront Hotel in Miami, Florida.
After the incident, in which Gillum was not charged by police, he checked into rehab. Gillum claimed that after he lost his race for governor in 2018, he descended into substance abuse and depression.
Gillum said in his statement Sunday night that he resolved to seek help after conversations with his family and deep reflection, calling the decision “a wake-up call for me.”
“Since my race for governor ended, I fell into a depression that has led to alcohol abuse,” he said, pledging to work to “heal fully and show up in the world as a more complete person.”
He said he would be stepping down from “all public facing roles” at this time.
Gillum is a father of three and was the mayor of Tallahassee, Florida, from 2014 to 2018 before running for governor of Florida as a Democrat in 2018. After losing his race for governor, Gillum briefly joined CNN as a paid contributor, and left the role, as noted by NBC, when he agreed to go to rehab.
