Louis Smith on Tom Daley coming out: ‘It was very brave’

Louis Smith has hailed Tom Daley’s decision to come out as “very brave” – and praised the way he did it.

The Olympic diver made a low-key YouTube video last December in which he revealed he is in a relationship with a man, whom we now know to be Oscar-winning screenwriter Dustin Lance Black.

“I think what Tom Daley did was very brave,” gymnast Smith says in the latest issue of Attitude.

“But he definitely made the right choice,” Smith continues, “because when you’re in the public eye someone says something and it gets twisted and before you know it there’s a news article out there before you’ve even had a chance to say anything.

“Whereas what he did, he was able to put the first statement out on his own and tell people how it is.”

Smith, himself an Olympic medal winner, goes on to express empathy for Daley, who for a time kept his sexuality a secret while maintaining the training regime necessary to become a world-class athlete.

“I remember Tom saying that even after he told his best friend he felt so much better, like he had so much weight lifted off him,” Smith says. “Imagine that as an athlete, imagine having to think about that every day in training, every time you compete. It’s a worry you don’t need.”

Controversial columnist Katie Hopkins was rather less positive about Daley’s coming out video recently, branding it “lame”.

The latest issue of Attitude, featuring Louis on the cover, is available to download now, and also includes exclusive interviews with Conchita Wurst, Dolly Parton, Kristin Chenoweth and Dolly Parton.

> Click here to download the digital version to your iPad or tablet