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WATCH: Principal Tells Gay Teen Get 'Back In the Closet' or Leave

WATCH: Principal Tells Gay Teen Get 'Back In the Closet' or Leave

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The gay vlogger left his high school rather than remain in an antigay environment.

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A gay teenage vlogger says he was forced to leave his high school due to his sexual orientation.

Austin Wallis, 17, posted an emotional video on his YouTube channel that revealed how his principal called him into his office, after the administration discovered that Wallis was out in the real world, among his peers and teachers at the private school, as well as online.

The principal, who called Wallis' mother into the meeting, told him that his social media posts were having a "bad impact" on the school, and gave the young man an ultimatum.

The principal told Wallis that he "had to go back in the closet, which means I had to delete all my social media including YouTube," Wallis recounts in the video. "I had to erase my digital impact on the world. And he said I would have to do that to stay at the school and I could never be involved in another video, or do anything for that matter."

Ultimately, Wallis says he left, rather than continue his studies at an institution that believed "what I am to be wrong." In the video, he weeps as he recounts his decision, and is comforted by his boyfriend.

Wallis has not released the name of the school, due to the pushback he fears would affect the teachers who have supported him.

"I think it's ridiculous that in this day and age you can be excluded from your own school for being gay," he says. "When I came out I knew I was going to have bullies, and I knew people were not going to be OK with it. But I never expected it to be from the people who were supposed to protect you from the bullies."

Watch the full video below.

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Daniel Reynolds

Daniel Reynolds is the editor of social media for The Advocate. A native of New Jersey, he writes about entertainment, health, and politics.
Daniel Reynolds is the editor of social media for The Advocate. A native of New Jersey, he writes about entertainment, health, and politics.