Tuesday, September 29, 2015

New Jersey: Radio Producer Joe Votruba Comes Out On The Air


Great feel good story coming out of New Jersey concerning Joe Votruba, the afternoon show producer and writer for New Jersey 101.5, the largest FM talk radio station in America.

Last Friday, Joe came out live on air during the Deminski & Doyle Show, which he produces. The off the cuff announcement barely seemed to throw radio hosts Jeff Deminski and Bill Doyle off guard.

The moment happened as the host's were discussing the wisdom of being friends with your ex. During the segment, Joe said, “I can give you a story. This story has to come with an announcement first of all. I’m gay. But we’ll talk about that later.”

From the show’s website:

We spent the hour debating whether or not it’s ever okay to remain friends with an ex. Joe chimed in with a story of his own, but he buried the lead. Little did we know that this was going to be the moment when Joe V decided to announce to the audience that he’s gay. We are so happy for him that he did, though!

The über-cool thing is how calm the announcement came and went. His radio hosts, who knew he was gay although Joe had not gone "public" public with the news, completely rocked and rolled with the announcement and kept on chatting with the topic at hand.

Later, Joe expressed his thanks on Facebook to those who offered him support after coming out on the air.

“While a lot of my friends and relatives were already aware of that fact that I’m gay, Friday afternoon was the first time I ever talked about that aspect of my life on the air. Your kind words in response have been so incredible and you are all truly amazing. I just want to say THANK YOU for your outpouring of love, support and acceptance. Stay hungry and stay free!”

I really love how the rhythm of the show and the hosts didn't skip a beat when Joe shared his news. This was smooth, kids.

It really informs us on how far we've come.

Congratulations, Joe!



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