Kal Penn comes out as gay, reveals engagement to partner in new memoir

Kal Penn has a new memoir coming up. In You Can’t Be Serious, actor Penn talks about his sexuality, his time at the White House, and growing up as the child of Indian immigrants. The Harold and Kumar fame actor told People magazine that he has been in a relationship with his partner Josh for the past 11 years and that they are engaged. Penn said he fell in love with Josh while he was working for the Obama administration.

QUOTABLE: "I've always been very public with everybody I've personally interacted with. Whether it's somebody that I meet at a bar, if Josh and I are out or we're talking to friends," Penn told People. "I'm really excited to share our relationship with readers. But Josh, my partner, my parents, and my brother, four people who I'm closest to in the family, are fairly quiet. They don't love attention and shy away from the limelight."

I’m excited to share more about my book, You Can’t Be Serious https://t.co/sgcI1lHyQQ pic.twitter.com/zdf8e6KeBB

— Kal Penn (@kalpenn) October 7, 2021

WHAT THE BOOK IS ABOUT: Kal said that he intends to be transparent and and truthful in his book, without compromising on the privacy of his loved ones. His memoir talks about his first date with Josh: Josh showed up at his apartment with an 18-pack of Coors Light and turned the TV to NASCAR. It made him wonder if the two would work out, Penn told the magazine, but in a few months, the couple were watching NASCAR every Sunday.

He also shares in his memoir of how he went against his aunties and guidance counselors’ advice to take up a practical career choice and instead went on his journey to act, work as a farmhand, and working for the White House, according to a statement from publisher Simon & Schuster. The memoir is also expected to divulge into what it was like for Penn growing up as the son of Indian immigrants, and later what it was like trying to make it as an actor of colour in Hollywood. 

The book also talks about the time Kal took time off to become an aide for the Obama campaign. The Simon & Schuster’s statement also said that this part of his journey is a time that Kal’s parents likely could never have guessed for their son. "People who came to this country with very little and went very far—and whose vision of the American dream probably never included their son sliding off an oiled-up naked woman in a raunchy Ryan Reynolds movie... or getting a phone call from Air Force One as Kal flew with the country’s first Black president," the statement read.

The soon-to-be-released book promises to delve into Penn's life in detail; something that fans sure are looking forward to.