A valedictorian at Brigham Young University, a Mormon college in the United States, has used his graduation speech to come out of the closet to his peers.
Matty Easton said he was "proud" to be gay in the six-minute speech, insisting that he was "not broken".
The Political Science student later uploaded a video of the speech to YouTube, where it has had over 30,000 views.
“I stand before my family, friends, and graduating class today to say that I am proud to be a gay son of God,” he said in the video.
“I am not broken. I am loved and important in the plan of our great creator. Each of us are.
“Four years ago, it would have been impossible for me to imagine that I would come out to my entire college. It is a phenomenal feeling.”
After the video was shared all across social media, Easton took to Twitter to share that he was “overwhelmed by the reaction to my words today (in the best way possible!). Thank you to all those who have expressed love and support. It means everything.”
He added: “During my time at BYU, I have slowly come out to my closest family members and friends. However, this is the first time I have publicly declared it.
“I felt it was important to share both for myself and for the LGBTQ+ community at BYU.”
Musical theatre star Kristen Chenoweth was one of the big names to be moved by the student's story, tweeting: "I’m very proud of you. As a straight Christian woman, i stand beside you!! I say to you: YOU ARE LOVED!!!!!"
