Savage Gave Bad Advice to Shears

Dan Savage says the worst advice he ever gave was convincing 15-year-old Jake Shears to come out to his parents, according to an interview with website Big Think. The sex columnist recalls that the future Scissor Sisters front man asked him if he should tell his parents that he is gay, saying it was the most damaging advice he ever gave.

"He described what was going on and who they were and what, you know, what he thought they might know. And after he told me everything I was like: Oh, they know. They're just waiting for you to tell them. You should tell them. Just come out to them. They're waiting. They're ready. And he came out to them, and they didn't know, and it was a big disaster and they threatened to pull him out of school and they were really angry, and so he called me. I had a radio show, and he called me, and I got him off the air and got his mother's phone number and called my mother and gave my mother Jake's mother's phone number and had my mom call him mom and yell at her. And it helped, but yeah, I gave him some really shitty advice."

Watch the complete video below.