Billy Eichner celebrated former “Bachelor” star Colton Underwood’s coming out by sharing a 2019 video of himself jokingly telling Underwood he might be gay.
The short clip, which has now gone viral, aired in 2019 during Underwood’s season of the ABC reality dating series. The “Billy on the Street” funnyman, 42, appeared as a special guest on one episode in which he and host Chris Harrison chatted with Underwood, 29, about his search for love.
When Underwood asks Eichner what he looks for in a partner, Eichner responds, “I’m gay, I know that’s a shock, Colton. That I think you should look into.”
The “Parks and Recreation” alum adds, “Maybe you’re the first gay Bachelor and we don’t even know!”
As Underwood laughs, Eichner tells a cameraperson, “Put that in your promo!”
After Underwood came out as gay Wednesday morning, Eichner showed his support by posting the old clip to his Instagram page.
“Congrats @coltonunderwood! If you’re gay, be gay! I’ve been gay forever and I love it!” he wrote.
Underwood responded in the post’s comments, writing, “Love you. Love this (now) and now I love being gay.”
Eichner followed up to express how glad he was that the former pro football player was able to live his truth.
“I’m happy for you. See you at the club, Colton!” he wrote.
Eichner later took to Twitter to address how difficult it can be for some members of the LGBTQ community to come out. He also thanked those in the entertainment industry who came out long before it was “embraced.”
“Two things. Number one, pop culture now sometimes makes it seem like every 14 year old gay boy is flying out of the closet without a care in the world. Some are. And that’s INCREDIBLE. But many are not. So let’s remember that,” Eichner wrote.
“AND let’s ALSO honor and praise those in entertainment who came out years — DECADES — before it was embraced and could be used to professional advantage. I don’t mean me — I mean many others, especially those before me — that took real guts. Let’s put some shine on them too,” he added.
Underwood was known as the “virgin Bachelor” during his season of the show. He gave his final rose to contestant Cassie Randolph. The couple dated until May 2020, when they announced they’d broken up in separate — now deleted — posts on Instagram.
“It’s been a crazy few months to say the least,” Underwood wrote at the time. “Cass and I have been doing a lot of self-reflecting. Sometimes people are just meant to be friends — and that’s okay.”
