It’s been nearly a decade since Karamo Brown appeared on MTV’s “The Real World” and provided TV fans with a new take on life for black gay men. Since then, Brown has been far removed from the spotlight. Now he’s back and shedding light on an unknown aspect of his life – the fact that he’s a dad.
In a recent interview with Chris Witherspoon of The Griot, Brown revealed that, years after he filmed his season of “The Real World” (2004-2005), he was contacted by a former high school friend who told him that he had a 9-year old son named Jason.
She and I, being young kids had a relationship and she got pregnant but I wasn’t aware of it,” Brown said. I was coming home one day and there was a stack of papers on the doorstep for back child support. I was like, “Wow, there’s a kid out there in the world that has my name.”
Brown immediately put his career on hold and eventually adopted and got full custody of Jason and his younger half-brother, Chris. However, Brown says that the boys, Jason, 16 and Chris, 13, still speak with their mother, who resides in Texas and encouraged the adoption.
Although Brown admits that it’s a struggle to find time to follow his own personal dreams, he explains that he happily embraces being a father. “I have never been as devoted to anything as I am to them,” Brown said “My father loved me and was devoted to me until he knew I was gay and then our relationship went south. So I always make sure that I let my sons know that I will love them not matter what they do or who they become for the rest of their lives.”
“There are so many guys that I went to college with that decided to take a different path when they found out that they had a child. Fatherhood is an honor and men should be strong enough to step up to the plate,” Brown adds. “Our family, though it may be different from the outside looking in, we are no different. My household runs the same way it was with my parents, who were a mother and father with their kids. Love is love and people need to just accept that.”
Truer words were never spoken. Thankfully, Brown isn’t alone. Check out some other famous gay fathers below. – nicholas robinson
