“I hid behind an alter ego”: Pee-wee Herman star comes out as gay in posthumous documentary
Paul Reubens publically opened up about his sexuality in a new HBO project. On 23 January, the late actor’s posthumous documentary Pee-wee as Himself made its world premiere at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival.
Directed by Matt Wolf, the two-part doc chronicles the life of Reubens and his beloved alter ego, Pee-wee Herman. The synopsis adds: “Prior to his recent death, Reubens, beloved for his nostalgic, avant-garde programs like Pee-wee’s Playhouse, spoke in-depth about his creative influences and the personal struggles he faced to persevere as an artist.” Alongside archival footage, the docuseries features candid interviews with Reubens, who peeled back the curtain on his life and career – including his sexuality. “I hid behind an alter ego.
I spent my entire adult life hiding I was a huge weed head,” he reportedly revealed in the film. “I was secretive about my sexuality even to my friends [out of] self-hatred or self-preservation.
I was conflicted about sexuality. But fame was way more complicated.” However, Reubens confided in Wolf that he wasn’t always private about his sexuality, revealing that he was in a relationship with a man named Guy before making it big. “I was out of the closet, and then I went back in the closet,” he said. “I wasn’t pursuing the Paul Reubens career.
