“I write this article in fear,” starts Omar Sharif Jr.’s revelatory article in the Advocate, which dishes out coming out stories to fit every pallet. This one involves an Egyptian TV and screen actor, grandson of a Hollywood legend, who fled his homeland for the safety of America. And he’s probably Jewish, too.
His coming out has taken place against a background of “fear for my country, fear for my family, and fear for myself. My parents will be shocked to read it, surely preferring I stay in the shadows and keep silent, at least for the time being.”
He left an Egypt that is becoming progressively intolerant of all kinds of minorities, as extremist Muslim parties have gained absolute majority in Parliament. He confides:
“I write this article despite the inherent risks associated because as we stand idle at what we hoped would be the pinnacle of Egyptian modern history, I worry that a fall from the top could be the most devastating. I write, with healthy respect for the dangers that may come, for fear that Egypt’s Arab Spring may be moving us backward, not forward.
“And so I hesitantly confess: I am Egyptian, I am half Jewish, and I am gay.”
Actually, since his mother is the Jewish, the tormented star is a Jew. So now he has two very good reasons not to go home.
