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Entertainment

Robin Roberts: I was afraid of being outed over 2012 Obama interview

By
Samantha Ibrahim
Published April 25, 2022
Updated April 25, 2022, 11:19 a.m. ET

Robin Roberts has revealed that she was afraid she would be outed if she interviewed former President Barack Obama on the subject of marriage equality back in 2012.

Roberts, 61, came out as part of the LGBTQ community in 2013 and has been in a relationship with partner Amber Laign since 2005.

The “Good Morning America” anchor appears on Monday’s episode of “The Ellen Show,” where she recalled the time the White House rung her up for an interview with the Commander in Chief.

“There was a possibility that [he] would change his stance on marriage equality,” the ABC star explained to host Ellen DeGeneres, 64. “I had not been public yet about being gay, and I was afraid that I might be outed, that people might wonder — ‘Why is she the one interviewing the president when he’s making this change in his stance?’”

However, Roberts said she later decided to take the gig and realized it was a big opportunity for her.

The Alabama native continued, “It was kind of like a scene out of ‘Moonstruck.’ [I thought] ‘Snap out of it; Robin, what are you thinking? It’s not about you. This man is going to impact countless lives.’ And it was at that moment that I said, ‘I’m gonna stop letting fear keep me from the things that I want to do.”

ABC's "Good Morning America" - 2021
The “Good Morning America” anchor came out as a lesbian in 2013. ABC via Getty Images
U.S. President Barack Obama participates in an interview with Robin Roberts of ABC's Good Morning America, in the Cabinet Room of the White House on May 9, 2012 in Washington, DC.
US President Barack Obama participates in an interview with Robin Roberts of ABC’s “Good Morning America” in the Cabinet Room of the White House on May 9, 2012 in Washington, DC. Getty Images
robin roberts
“I had not been public yet about being gay, and I was afraid that I might be outed, that people might wonder, ‘Why is she the one interviewing the president when he’s making this change in his stance?,'” the broadcaster said.

“I’m so grateful that I did that [interview with Obama],” she went on. “Shortly thereafter is when on Instagram, or on social media, I talked about Amber and all that fear I had of being a Christian, that people would look at me differently.”

“[But] I was embraced. Again, if we just stop and think about how many times we let fear keep us on the sidelines and I’m so, so very glad that that’s no longer the case. I am not gonna get everything that I want in life, and I’m not going to accomplish everything, but by golly, fear is not going to be the reason why I’m not,” she added.

Roberts also revealed to DeGeneres that she’s been an emotional “puddle” dealing with her partner Laign’s ongoing health battle. She announced on April 18 that Laign is suspending her breast cancer treatment for the time being due to “complications with the chemotherapy.”

robin Roberts partner
Roberts’ partner Amber Laign was diagnosed with breast cancer last year.

The newscaster announced in February that Laign was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2021 and underwent surgery earlier this year. 

Roberts revealed Laign’s decision in an interview with Entertainment Tonight, stating, “They’re working it out. We’re gonna figure it out. The prognosis is still very good.”

She said, “I’m just thankful that her spirits have been lifted. Recently it was a little tough there when — because she just wanted to get through it and to have this wrench thrown in our way — but I was able to tell her, as most people [who] have gone through cancer, this happens.”