Andrew Gillum says he identifies as bisexual in TV interview with Tamron Hall
Five months after his political career was derailed in a Miami Beach hotel room where a self-proclaimed male escort was treated for a drug overdose, Andrew Gillum went on national television and disclosed he identified as bisexual.
Gillum, who came within 32,000 votes of becoming Florida’s first Black governor in 2018, appeared on The Tamron Hall Show Monday, saying he had succumbed to depression and alcohol after his election loss to current Gov. Ron DeSantis.
.
"You just asked the question. You put it out there whether or not I identify as gay. And the answer is, I don't identify as gay but I do identify as bisexual," Gillum tells Hall.
The admission came when Hall brought up photos that were leaked to the media and reports by conservative bloggers after police responded to a call about a suspected overdose in March.
It was Gillum's first sit-down interview since he was found unconscious in a $220-a-night hotel room with a man who advertised himself as an escort and had reportedly overdosed on crystal meth.
From March: Andrew Gillum linked to meth overdose incident in Miami hotel, police reports state
Hall uses the full hour of the season premiere of her television talk show probing Gillum about the incident which at least temporarily derailed his political career.
After losing the 2018 governor's race to current GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis by fewer than 35,000 votes, Gillum said he gave in to depression and began to drink heavily, including putting whiskey in his morning coffee.
Police photos from the Miami Beach hotel room showed dozens of white pills scattered on the floor alongside beer bottles and sheets covered in bodily fluids.
Gillum left the hotel after rescue workers confirmed that he had stable vital signs.
He told Hall he agreed to an interview as part of an attempt to redeem himself. In it, he presented himself as a man beset by shame and guilt.
Despite his loss to DeSantis, Gillum was a major player in Florida Democrats' attempt to turn blue a volatile swing state in national politics. His loss of less than half a percentage point came in the closest modern-era gubernatorial contest in Florida.
He pledged to use $3 million in leftover campaign funds to register voters to help Democratic candidates in 2020. The party has spent the past three decades in close to superminority status at the state Capitol, and currently claims just one elected statewide office, held by Fried.
James Call is a member of the USA TODAY NETWORK-Florida Capital Bureau. He can be reached at jcall@tallahassee.com. Follow on him Twitter: @CallTallahassee
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Andrew Gillum says he identifies as bisexual in Tamron Hall interview
