Fans will recognize Kal Penn from Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle alongside John Cho.

He has also appeared on popular TV shows like House, Designated Survivor, and How I Met Your Mother.

The actor briefly served in the Obama administration as the principal associate editor in the White House Office of Public Engagement. 

In his new tell-all memoir, You Can’t Be Serious, the actor shared details of his coming out.

Kal Penn’s Reveals He Is Gay

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by Kal Penn (@kalpenn)

While promoting his new book, Penn opened up about his sexuality and came out as gay publicly for the first time.

He told People he was engaged to Josh, his partner of 11 years.

The actor shared that he discovered he was gay relatively late in life compared to others and iterated that there was no timeline for figuring out such stuff. 

People figure their [expletive] out at different times in their lives, so I’m glad I did when I did.

And fortunately for him, when he came out as gay to his parents, he felt “very supported.”

Recalling the conversations, he said that his parents were like, “yeah, okay,” and then joked that any conversation would be easy if you told your Indian parents that you wanted to be an actor. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by Kal Penn (@kalpenn)

Although the actor was excited to share his gay identity, relationship, and parents with his readers, he had to ensure that he still respected their privacy as they did not “love attention.”

He explained that his partner, parents, and brother were reserved and shied away from the limelight, but even then, he still wanted to be a transparent and truthful as possible. 

In his book, Penn also details his first shocking date with Josh. Josh had arrived at his apartment with an 18-pack of Coors Light and switched on the TV to watch NASCAR.

The actor was convinced it would not work out, but he was wrong. 

Kal Penn’s Wedding and New Show

Penn is now gearing up for his big Indian wedding.

The actor shared that while he was excited by the prospect of having a big celebration, his partner wanted a “quick 20-minute thing” with their families.

He noted that they had to meet in the middle. 

During his recent appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live, the actor also shared that he dreamed that Cardi B officiated his wedding on a plane.

He tweeted this after he woke up. The tweet reached Cardi B, who replied that she had the license to do so and was down for it.

Apart from the actor’s wedding, fans would be excited to learn that he has been cast as the lead of FX’s forthcoming comedy pilot Belated. 

According to Deadline, the half-hour comedy follows Owen (Penn), who recently realized he is gay, and together with his ex-wife Diana, they navigate his new reality. But it is made more difficult when he befriends a 17-year-old trans teen named Clay.

The new project hits close to home for Penn, who came out much later in life.