“I hid behind an alter ego”: Pee-wee Herman star comes out as gay in posthumous documentary

Paul Reubens publicly discussed his sexuality in a new HBO documentary.

On January 23, the posthumous documentary Pee-wee as Himself about the late actor premiered at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival.

Directed by Matt Wolf, this two-part series explores Reubens’ life and his famous character, Pee-wee Herman.

The documentary’s synopsis mentions, “Prior to his recent death, Reubens, loved for his nostalgic, avant-garde shows like Pee-wee’s Playhouse, shared deeply about his creative influences and the personal challenges he overcame as an artist.”

Including archival content, the docuseries offers candid interviews where Reubens reveals details about his personal life and career, such as his sexuality, according to ‘Gay Times’.

In the film, he reportedly confessed, “I hid behind an alter ego. I spent my entire adult life hiding I was a huge weed head.”

He further shared, “I was secretive about my sexuality even to my friends [out of] self-hatred or self-preservation. I was conflicted about sexuality. But fame was way more complicated.”

Reubens also confided in Wolf that he hadn’t always been private about his sexuality, mentioning a relationship with a man named Guy before his fame.

“I was out of the closet, and then I went back in the closet,” he explained. “I wasn’t pursuing the Paul Reubens career. I was pursuing the Pee-wee Herman career.”

Despite focusing on his career, he acknowledged having “many, many secret relationships” during his peak professional years.

When asked about his motive for making a documentary about his career successes and personal struggles, including his 1991 scandal, Reubens shared with Wolf: “More than anything, the reason I wanted to make a documentary was for people to see who I really am and how painful and dreadful it was to be labelled something I wasn’t.”

“To be labelled a pariah; to have people be scared of you, or untrusting… My whole career, everything I did and wrote, was based in love.”

In July 2023, the iconic actor passed away at the age of 70 after a six-year battle with cancer.

“Please accept my apology for not going public with what I’ve been facing the last six years. I have always felt a huge amount of love and respect from friends, fans and supporters. I have loved you all,” he shared in a statement posted on Instagram by his estate.

The estate’s caption on the post noted that Reubens courageously fought his cancer with his characteristic “tenacity and wit.”

“An incredibly talented and prolific figure, he will always be remembered in the realm of comedy and in our hearts as a cherished friend and a man of remarkable character and generosity,” the post read.

Pee-wee as Himself is scheduled to air on HBO later this year.