The first gay
reality star in BET's history chats with John Griffiths
about his new gig getting straight boys to open up in Fox
Reality's Nightclub Confessions
Miles Ray
Cunningham -- you can call him Ray -- has always been
thirsty for attention. As a little prankster in
Richmond, Virginia, he recalls, "I once snuck a beer
from my dad and took a picture of myself with the
bottle in my hand." He also irked teachers by, um,
pretending to fall out of his chair. "My
parents’ phone numbers were on speed dial at
Southhampton Elementary School," he says with a downright
infectious giggle. "I was a BAD kid. I just wanted to be the
center of attention. Eyes on me!"
Thanks to his
stint last year as one of the eight studious (if boozy
and/or snarky) roomies on the third season of College
Hill -- BET’s spin on down-and-flirty
reality shows like The Real World -- Cunningham
can now, at 24, claim title to being the channel’s
first-ever admittedly gay personality (catch his
momentous coming out and more in HILL’s latest
DVD release).
He has since
parlayed his B.A. in mass communications from Virginia State
into a gig as one of folks who ask club-hoppers naughty
questions on Fox Reality's Nightclub
Confession (a show where straight drunk guys
are known to sometimes wax surprisingly homoerotic).
What else is there to note about this peppy hopeful
thespian—other than the fact that he can enjoy a
cocktail during an interview? Cunningham opens up
during a chat from his two-bedroom
“luxury” apartment in L.A.
When did you first get an inkling you were gay?
When I was a kid, I used to draw Gem and the
Hollograms. And the only music video I liked to like
was En Vogue’s "Giving Him Something He Can
Feel."
What’s it like being a reality star?
The good is that people like you for you.
The downside is that if you want to be a comedian or
an actor, people say, "Oh, he has no talent. He just
got on TV because he had some deep, dark secret he
told in his audition."
What was your deep-dark secret?
When I tried out to be on College Hill, I
never intended to be the "Gay Guy." I did not want to come
out on national TV. But that’s what happened.
My heart dropped when I saw myself finally say it. I
was at a premiere-night party, and my phone lit up
instantly. It was like, 'Oh, my God!!"
Any fall-out?
My family was mad that they officially found out
that way. My daddy (also named Ray, an Amtrak
conductor) took it hard at first. He wasn't upset that
I was gay; he just was hurt that I didn't come talk to him
about it. But now I have the most supportive daddy
that a gay guy could ever have.
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