This obituary is part of a series about people who have died in the coronavirus pandemic. Read about others here. James Williams was a gay man who grew up in a conservative and religious milieu in Alabama, where homophobia was rampant.
But over time, he saw the United States move toward greater tolerance, which he attributed partly to nonthreatening television shows like “Will & Grace,” the long-running sitcom with an openly gay lead character.
While on vacation in India in 2017, he met Ayush Thakur and moved to India to live with him. Gay sex had been decriminalized there only in 2018, and Mr.
Williams saw that persecution persisted. He thought that if Indian television shows were modeled on “Will & Grace,” they could bring gay people into.