'Empire' Season 2's Jussie Smollett, Jamal Lyon, Covers Out Magazine- "I Am A Gay Man"

 Thank you @outmagazine for the March cover. Appreciate the love and kindness #Repost @outmagazine ・・・ @empirefox's @jussiesmollett is here to help save the world. “I have so much love inside that it pains me sometimes,” the actor says. “You end up finding yourself all-consumed by the issues of the world, and that’s something I don’t want to change about myself. So until the love of my life shows up, until I find my boo, I’m just going to be out, up in this piece, a lone ranger.” Link to the story in our bio. (Photo by @michaelmuller7, words by @shananaomi) #Empire #JussieSmollett

A photo posted by Jussie Smollett (@jussiesmollett) on Jan 28, 2016 at 3:53pm PST

Empire's Jussie Smollett has Hollywood in the palm of his hand as he continues to share his amazing artistry and talent on the hit show. Since his debut on the show Smollett has grown his star power and has become an activist for the LGBT community. Living as an openly proud gay man, the actor has no qualms speaking about his sexuality. The 32-year-old cutie recently sat down with Out magazine to speak about his career and highlight how his life has changed since landing the role of Jamal.

Smollett had been pretty coy about his sexual orientation in the past.  After visiting The Ellen DeGeneres Show, he finally opened up about his sexual orientation backstage with the talk show host.

Now it seems as if Smollett is more than comfortable openly speaking about his sexuality. The actor shared that he never felt the need to come out of the closet.

"You're not going to tell me that loving someone is wrong," Smollett shared with Out. "That does not mean that heterosexuality is not very real. It does not mean that bisexuality is not very real. It does not mean that homosexuality is not very real. They are all very real. But what I'm saying is, I am a gay man. I am a gay man. I am a gay man. I don't know how many times I have to say that."

Just Be Love. Photo by: @michaelmuller7 For @outmagazine A photo posted by Jussie Smollett (@jussiesmollett) on Jan 28, 2016 at 4:32pm PST

Smollett is without a doubt a heartthrob. If you scroll through social media you can see tons of women pining over the actor. Although he confirms that he is gay, he is open to the possibility of falling for a woman.  For all the ladies still pining over the star there is hope for you.

 "I am a gay man with an extremely open heart," Smollett told Out. "With that said, I believe that love is the only thing that matters, and I would hope that anybody would leave themselves open - not to gender, but to love. I would hope that people would not close themselves off from what could be if, low and behold, you meet somebody that just sweeps you off your feet, and you just can't do anything about it."

The crazy thing about Smolett addressing his sexuality is that his personal life is parallel with his career. The actor's character Jamal, who is openly gay and has scenes of kissing a man also shared a kiss with Skye Summers played by Alicia Keys. Although the role is fictional, it speaks to his position that society needs to embrace love rather then gender. 

Smollett had one amazing year in 2015. From Empire being the most highest rated-scripted broadcast program of the 2014 season and new music coming this year Smollett is definitely a star on the rise. With his music gaining attention from music industry heavyweights like Timbaland and Ne-yo, the triple-threat actor/singer/songwriter is well on his way to establishing a solid music career.

What do you guys think? Do you applaud Jussie Smollett for openly speaking about his sexual orientation? Sound off below!