andPOP - Pop Culture With Substance

Canadian “Degrassi” star Adamo Ruggiero was so popular at the GLAAD awards on Saturday, he may have even made Rufus Wainwright jealous.

The crowd went so wild when Adamo took to the stage to speak about his decision to come out of the closet, that when Wainwright was accepting the Stephen F Kolzak Award later in the evening, he said, “I’m giving up my music career and taking up a role on Degrassi.”

The crowd also went nuts when “Degrassi” was announced in its category, though it lost the award to “Brothers and Sisters.”

Ruggiero made the bold decision to come out earlier this year. The 22-year-old has received much praise for his courage, especially considering that there are many stars who, even later in life, refuse to admit their homosexuality.

Adamo Ruggiero has revealed that, like his “Degrassi” character, he is gay.

In an interview with eTalk that aired last night, 21-year-old Ruggiero said that it was “just time to talk.”

“Some people say ‘I knew from the beginning’ and in that sense I think I very much did,” Ruggiero said.

Of coming out to his family, Ruggiero said he was nervous, but they were supportive. “I come from a fantastic family but it was very scary.”

Ruggiero has previously struggled with answering direct questions about his sexuality, as he didn’t want to interfere with how fans viewed his character. “I completely understand people’s curiosity about the question,” Ruggiero said in a 2004 interview with The Advocate.

“When you’re watching a character on television every week, you believe in that person as you see him on the screen. But my answer to that question is, I don’t want to say, because I don’t want to relate myself to a character and get people more interested in me than in Marco. But at the same time, I don’t want to say that I’m the opposite of Marco, because I don’t want people to think I’m disconnected from my character. So, I think I’ll leave it up to the individual to decide, and hope they just focus on Marco.”

Ruggiero speaks more about his sexuality and his character in next weeks issue of fab magazine.

“Degrassi: The Next Generation” airs Mondays at 7:30 ET on CTV.