Sanjaya from 'American Idol' Comes Out as Bisexual, Talks Bullying

Sanjaya Malakar, the "American Idol" contestant whose ponyhawk went viral in 2007 before viral was viral, has come out as bisexual on a popular podcast.

Speaking with "The Adam Sank Show Podcast," Malakar, now 32, talked about all the assumptions that were made at the time when he was just 16, saying that now, "I identify as bisexual. At the time, I did not know, which was why it was so weird for me."

He didn't know his sexual orientation on "American Idol," so he certainly didn't know it even earlier. "I was raised by women, I was in theater," he said. "I had a hard time figuring out how to interact with young boys… Everyone [kept] telling me that I’m gay, and I’m, like, 7. I’m like, 'I don’t even have any attraction to anyone, so why are you telling me this?'”

As for his experience on "Idol," Malakar — now a pastry chef in Montana — recalled being picked on by Simon Cowell (who called him "horrendous"), but was more haunted by the reactions of non-fans who watched the series.

“I definitely had quite a bit of verbal abuse from stepdads growing up, so I was really good at letting it kind of wash off my back," he said, admitting, "Obviously, it affected me. But more than what Simon said, what was perpetuated online by haters… Like, the people that loved me were so balanced by people that were literally starving themselves until I got cut from the show. So that effect that I had as a child on that many people had way more of an effect on me than the things that Simon was saying.”

He also remembers how he wound up wearing his infamous ponyhawk — and reveals his mother was against it. “I would literally go to Dean, the hairstylist, I would go to his studio the day or two before, and he’d have like four of five mannequin heads with wigs on them with hairstyles and be like, 'What do you think?'" Sanjaya told Sank. When the ponyhawk was presented, "My mom went in and was like, ‘This is ridiculous. My son is not a joke. I’m not going to have him walking around like a fool.’”

Sanjaya recalled that executive producer Nigel Lythgoe persuaded him and his mom to try the ponyhawk, saying it would make him a "media phenomenon." (It did.)

Speaking of his mom, Sanjaya said he still hasn't talked about his sexuality with his parents, but, "At this point, I don’t care what people know of my sexuality. If I got into a serious, long-term relationship with a guy, I would bring him to my family, and they would be like, ‘Oh, cool.’”