I Kissed a Boy star Adam has been praised for opening up about his HIV status.
In the third episode of the BBC series, the marketing and brand manager said he felt emboldened to share his status after Lars opened up about his identity as a trans man and the prejudice the LGBTQIA+ community often harbours toward trans people.
“I feel like you’ve just inspired me to say it,” Adam started. “I’ve got anxiety going through my body right now. Four years ago, I was diagnosed with HIV. When I was diagnosed, it nearly killed me off.
“My whole body basically shut down until my body kind of regenerated when I was on the pills.”
In a confessional, Adam explained that he was “uneducated” about HIV and the meaning of ‘Undetectable = Untransmittable’, which refers to the fact that a person with HIV who takes antiretroviral medication and maintains an undetectable viral load cannot sexually transmit the virus.
“I’m in a good place now,” Adam continued to tell his co-stars. “The thing it has made me is incredible empathetic towards people. It’s just made me really aware of what people feel.”
Adam highlighted the importance of language as he recalled a recent visit to a sexual health clinic, where he was asked if he was “clean”, a term that, in this context, perpetuates stigma by implying that someone living with HIV is “dirty” or “contaminated.”
“I used to say it as well,” explained Adam. “But does that make me dirty? Because I have HIV and I’m undetectable? No, it doesn’t.”
Following the episode, Adam shared a heartfelt letter on Instagram to his 2020 self, where he said he will “struggle for years with who you are what your purpose is in this world.”
“You will feel less than, disgusting and hate who you are. People will reject you, call you names and you will put others peoples opinions before your own,” he wrote.
“You will search for current representation of people living with HIV, you will only find historical tales of people fighting for their lives, and you will feel like the only one in this world to go through this experience.”
However, he said he will come to “fall in love” with himself, and become “strong, fierce and one of a kind”, while also using his experience to “emphasise with other people’s stories” and “help guide them”.
“You will start to regain your confidence, build your career that you love, to show others that having HIV does not mean you can’t be successful or hide away from society,” he said.
“You will make connections that you will give you the opportunity to connect with others.”
Adam ended his post by highlighting the progress in HIV medication and antiretroviral therapy, and by praising the work of various LGBTQIA+ organisations, such as Terrence Higgins Trust, George House Trust, Elton John AIDS Foundation, Positively UK and Positive East.
The post was met with hundreds of supportive comments from friends and followers, with Drag Race UK star A’Whora saying she “cried watching this morning,” and I Kissed a Boy season one star Dan Harry sharing how “proud” he is.
“So beyond proud Adam! You’re a light in everyone’s life,” wrote Adam’s season two co-star Hugh Brien. Jack also described him as a “role model for so many people” who will change the lives of viewers who are also HIV positive.
You can view Adam’s post in full below.
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