‘Schitt’s Creek’: Dan Levy’s Response to a Fan Coming out Is Everything Good in the World
Schitt’s Creek co-creator and star, Dan Levy, exudes out-and-proud confidence as his riches-to-rags queer character, David Rose. However, Levy recently revealed he used to struggle coming to terms with his sexuality. Now, he’s using his platform to support fans with their own coming out story. You might want to grab the tissues for this one.
Dan Levy plays David Rose on ‘Schitt’s Creek’
Schitt’s Creek is an Emmy-nominated comedy that follows a formerly wealthy family. There’s businessman father Johnny (Eugene Levy), dramatic actress mother Moira (Catherine O’Hara), and their two highly-dependent kids, Alexis (Annie Murphy) and David (whom the younger Levy plays).
When the Roses find themselves suddenly bankrupt, losing [nearly] everything, they’re forced to move to the small town, Schitt’s Creek. Johnny gifted the town to David as a gag birthday gift. If you’re a fan, you can probably imagine Alexis’s iconic, “ew, David!” right about now.
The show garnered the most nominations for a comedy series via the Critics Choice Awards. Best Comedy Series and all four leading actors received noms in their respective categories and for good reason.
“I would like to think that our show is an example of being able to keep an edge while at the same time putting something positive out into the world,” Levy told Variety. “That sensibility came from my dad. His comedy was always left of center. He never wanted to do anything on the nose.”
Levy came out as gay to his parents
On Schitt’s Creek, Levy plays a pansexual man engaged to a gay man, Patrick (Noah Reid).
Levy spoke at the 2019 GLAAD Gala, where he aims to “lead by example.” As he accepted GLAAD’s Davidson/Valentini Award for his LGBTQ advocacy work, the Schitt’s Creek actor talked about the importance of telling LGBTQ-inclusive stories.
In his speech, Levy revealed his own journey, which wasn’t so easy.
“Standing up here, it’s hard not to think back to a very specific time in my life when I was still in the closet,” he said. “I was in high school (in Toronto), I had a bad faux-hawk because the first Mission: Impossible movie had just come out and I thought Tom Cruise was a real drink of water.”
He continued, “I legitimately thought that I would have to live with this secret — my being gay — for the rest of my life because I didn’t have the security of seeing a lot of people like myself being celebrated in popular culture.”
He credited the love around him for finding his way “out of the closet.”
“Support, encouragement, and love: three relatively simple acts of kindness that can change the course of a person’s life.”
A fan said ‘Schitt’s Creek’ helped her come out and Levy responded
Clearly Levy’s goal to pass on the goodness has only just begun. A fan from Scotland sent Levy a video explaining that Patrick’s coming out episode gave her the courage to come out.
“I was watching it, and Patrick had just come out, and I was like ‘Wow, I should do that,'” she said. “So I rewinded it and I watched him come out again, and then I rewinded it again, and then I cried a little bit. But it was like an ‘I’m gonna do this.'”
Levy shared the video that brought him to tears. It now has more than 150,000 views. Other notable celebrities followed suit. Sister Sarah Levy (who plays Twyla on the show), Reid, and more, gave the young fan love and support.
As if you need another reason to indulge in the Rose family shenanigans, right?
The sixth and final season of Schitt’s Creek premieres on Pop TV on Tuesday, January 7 at 9 p.m. ET.
