Robin Roberts Says ‘I Was Afraid That I Might Be Outed’ As She Reflects On 2012 Obama Interview About Marriage Equality

Robin Roberts Says ‘I Was Afraid That I Might Be Outed’ As She Reflects On 2012 Obama Interview About Marriage Equality

Good Morning America host Robin Roberts is opening up about a time when she was afraid to interview former President Barack Obama about marriage equality.

Robin Roberts, 61, recently shared concerns she had surrounding a previous interview that took place with former President Barack Obama, 60, in 2012. The sit-down with the 44th president came after his historic announcement that he supported same-sex marriage. Roberts revealed that at the time she was afraid of being outed. She explained,

“There was a possibility that [Obama] would change his stance on marriage equality. I had not been public yet about being gay, and I was afraid that I might be outed, that people might wonder — ‘Why is she the one interviewing the president when he’s making this change in his stance?’”

Barack Obama

However, she later decided it would be a big opportunity for her to conduct the interview, and agreed to take it on.  Roberts continued,

 “It was kind of like a scene out of ‘Moonstruck.’ [I thought] ‘Snap out of it; Robin, what are you thinking? It’s not about you. This man is going to impact countless lives.’ And it was at that moment that I said, ‘I’m gonna stop letting fear keep me from the things that I want to do.”

One year after her interview with Barack Obama, Roberts came out as part of the LGBTQ community and has been in a relationship with partner Amber Laign since 2005. Roberts went on to say she was thankful for the interview with Obama.

“I’m so grateful that I did that [interview with Obama]. Shortly thereafter is when on Instagram, or on social media, I talked about Amber and all that fear I had of being a Christian, that people would look at me differently.”

Robin Roberts, Amber Laign

Roberts added,

“[But] I was embraced. Again, if we just stop and think about how many times we let fear keep us on the sidelines and I’m so, so very glad that that’s no longer the case. I am not gonna get everything that I want in life, and I’m not going to accomplish everything, but by golly, fear is not going to be the reason why I’m not.”

Robin Roberts also revealed that she’s been emotionally challenged while being a caretaker for Laign who is currently battling breast cancer. Laign was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2021 and underwent surgery earlier this year. Roberts explained,

“I’m in a puddle every time I think about what Amber’s going through.”

Roberts is now reminding others to get screened regularly, noting that Amber Laign put off going to the doctor during the pandemic.