Sonya Deville was recently interviewed by Variety and spoke about being WWE‘s first openly gay female wrestler. She also spoke about the incident last summer involving an obsessed fan breaking into her home.
With Pride month kicking off this week, Deville spoke about being a role model and voice for the LGBTQ+ community.
“I really just want to be a voice for the community in sports — specifically, in the WWE,” said Deville. “I want to let people know that their sexuality doesn’t define them and how they identify doesn’t define them. And I’m a perfect example of it.”
She also spoke about coming out on an episode of Tough Enough and worrying that it would hurt her chances of getting hired by WWE.
“I honestly thought that was going to hurt my chances of getting hired. That’s just how naive I was,” she continued. “I didn’t accept myself, so I didn’t think anyone else was going to accept me.”
Deville was also asked about the incident involving an obsessed fan breaking into her home last summer.
“So the trial hasn’t even begun yet,” Deville said of the case. “We’ll probably be dealing with that for the next several months. But I will definitely speak on it once it’s all legally wrapped up. There are things that I want to say that I think could help performers, and just people in general, in the future.”
Sonya Deville on Receiving Messages From Fans
Despite the ordeal, Deville still loves hearing from her fans. She won’t stop being a voice for those who look up to her.
“I would say that about 70% of my fan base is part of the community somehow, some way. I get messages constantly on Instagram and Twitter and emails, just all the people always asking me like, ‘Hey, do you have any advice on how I should come out?’ Or ‘Thank you. You helped me feel OK with myself and my sexuality.’ That’s literally the reason I use my voice.”
