Actor Kal Penn opens up about his sexuality for the first time, revealing in an interview that he is engaged to his partner of eleven years. Penn is perhaps best known for starring alongside John Cho in the Harold and Kumar film series, as well as his role on the medical drama House. He’s also recognized for his starring role in The Namesake, based on award-winning writer Jhumpa Lahiri’s novel of the same name. More recently, Penn has starred in the now-defunct NBC comedy series Sunnyside and the ongoing Clarice, based on The Silence of the Lambs.
In 2009, Penn joined the Obama administration as the Principal Associate Director of the White House Office of Public Engagement. Penn took a brief sabbatical to film A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas in 2010, whereupon he resumed his political post. After four years serving on the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities, Penn resigned in 2017 in response to Donald Trump’s response to the white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, VA. Penn synthesized his acting and political background on Designated Survivor, on which he also served as a consultant. He also hosted a six-part political miniseries called Kal Penn Approves This Message in 2020.
Now Penn tells People that he is engaged to his longtime partner Josh, who he first met in Washington, D.C. while working for the Obama administration. Penn details the beginning of their relationship his new book You Can’t Be Serious. The autobiography also covers Penn’s upbringing as the son of immigrants in New Jersey, moving to Hollywood at 18, dealing with racist casting nightmares, and his eventual career as an actor and public servant. Penn says he’s never been shy about sharing personal details with friends or fans, but that his partner and family tend to “shy away from the limelight.” The actor writes, “I'm really excited to share our relationship with readers.” Read more from Penn’s interview below.
"I've always been very public with everybody I've personally interacted with. Whether it's somebody that I meet at a bar, if Josh and I are out or we're talking to friends. I'm really excited to share our relationship with readers. But Josh, my partner, my parents, and my brother, four people who I'm closest to in the family, are fairly quiet. They don't love attention and shy away from the limelight... Figuring out the narrative [in the book], of how to respect who they really are, with telling my story — that includes: my work life, both in Hollywood and DC, it includes my love life with Josh and how we met, it includes my parents, to the extent that I'm willing to share stories about their upbringing. So that was the most important thing for me. I wanted my story to be authentic from my perspective and told in a way that makes you feel like you really get to know me."
In addition to revealing his 11-year relationship to fans, Kal Penn also details the humorous circumstances of their first date in 2010. To Penn’s horror, his partner showed up at his apartment with an 18-pack of Coors Light and turned on NASCAR. Eventually the actor warmed up to the routine: “Next thing you know, it's been a couple months and we're watching NASCAR every Sunday.” Though You Can’t Be Serious doesn’t hit shelves until November 2, positive reviews are already rolling in.
While the news of Penn's relationship status will certainly come as a surprise to some, it's understandable why he waited until now to make the news official. Not only does his upcoming book give him the space to tell his full story, but it's only been in recent years that the public at large has become more accepting of LGBTQ+ relationships. Hopefully, the response from Penn's fans and others continues to remain positive. And now, after spending four and a half years working on his book, maybe Penn can get around to more interstellar matters, like an outer space-set Harold and Kumar.
Source: People