Neil Patrick Harris says his childhood obsession with WWE came with a realization he didn’t fully understand at the time — he may have been paying a little more attention to the wrestlers than the wrestling.
While speaking with Sam Roberts, Harris opened up about secretly being a professional wrestling fan when he was younger and joked that looking back, his interest in WWE probably should have tipped him off about his sexuality. Harris explained that the combination of muscular wrestlers, tight gear and plenty of grappling definitely caught his attention.
“I secretly liked the WWE when I was younger. It was kind of a tell for knowing I was gonna be gay. That was just like, you know, tight shorts. They’re oiled up. Grappling. So it’s like, I’m not supposed to be liking this as much as I am.”
Roberts then asked whether Harris was already watching WWE during his years starring on Doogie Howser, M.D., and Harris confirmed wrestling was part of the mix.
“A little bit, yeah. It was sort of that same, and Masters of the Universe. I collected those dudes.”
Harris clearly has no problem laughing about it now, but the admission gives his childhood wrestling fandom a completely different meaning in hindsight. While plenty of kids were watching WWE for the larger-than-life characters and fights, Harris joked that his reasons for tuning in may have been a little more personal.
Wrestling has attracted fans for just about every reason imaginable, but Harris might have one of the funniest explanations yet for why WWE caught his attention as a kid.
What do you think about Neil Patrick Harris looking back at his childhood WWE fandom as an early clue about his sexuality? Drop your thoughts in the comments and let us know what you think.
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