Anthony Quintal was a beloved YouTube star, known for his pop culture commentary and liberal politics that he excitedly talked about from the floor of his childhood bedroom. As a young gay teenager, Quintal, better known as Lohanthony, became a mainstay among YouTube's elite for years through his authentic videos, often filmed from his laptop camera.
Now, Quintal, 21, once an advocate for LGBTQ rights and a role model for gay children and teens around the world, has renounced his own sexuality, saying in a recent YouTube video that he has chosen a life of "Christian celibacy" and moved on from the "sexual immorality" of his past gay relationships.
In a 41-minute video posted Friday to his channel, where he has since hidden nearly all of his past videos, Quintal said that coming out as bisexual and then gay earlier in life was like "trying to fit a circle into a square."
Quintal compared his sexual and romantic relationships with men to drug and alcohol use, saying that he was "trying to find God's love" through those paths.
"It's no coincidence that through pursuing my same-sex attraction I was also addicted to alcohol, I was also addicted to weed, I was also trying hallucinogenics, I was also addicted to money, I was also addicted to views, I was addicted to attention," Quintal said.
He also said that he was molested by a man as a child, and he believed it led him to "sin against other people" by engaging in consensual sex with other men throughout his teenage years.
Insider spoke to two LGBTQ advocates who warned that Quintal's message was rooted in harmful homophobic sentiment in the Christian community, which can be dangerous to young LGBTQ people and their families. Quintal didn't respond to Insider's request for comment.
It's unclear whether this kind of religious anti-gay language is permitted on YouTube, per its most recent policy on hate speech. YouTube says it removes content and penalizes creators when they promote "violence or hatred" against individuals or groups based on attributes that include sexual orientation. Insider did not immediately hear back from YouTube for comment.
While Quintal has not referenced conversion therapy — a widely discredited and ineffective type of program that attempts to "convert" LGBTQ people to heterosexuality — by name, many fans of the creator, as well as at least one other prominent YouTuber, have questioned whether he underwent and is encouraging such a program.
Quintal specifically said he was choosing "Christian celibacy," and although he never stated he had thought he was no longer gay, Quintal said he is choosing not to partake in same-sex relationships.
