No, I was watching The Voice.
And I was, like, I immediately texted my producers.
And I was, like, if for some reason
this guy doesn't make it, get him on the show.
I just think your voice is beautiful.
Oh.
And I love the fact that you were an NFL player
and that you were brave enough to come out and say you're gay.
So good for you.
Well, no, thanks.
Well, I got to tell you this.
I mean, you have definitely inspired
me and everything that you have done
and your story, everything.
For me it's, like, wow.
For me to be sitting here on the couch right now with you
is just awesome.
Incredible.
Well, thanks, well same back at you.
So you had NFL fans.
Yeah.
And now you have different fans.
Because you were on The Voice.
And people must be, like, blown away by your voice.
Yeah, well-- yeah, I had NFL fans.
But then between the NFL and The Voice,
I had a lot of young kids and moms come up
to me asking if I was Maui, from Moana.
Right.
So, it was just so much fun.
One of your producers here, to tell you the truth, her kids?
Kara, her kids--
Right.
Came up to me in a restaurant, and they asked me
if I was Maui.
So--
Yeah.
But it was then, we took a picture.
It was absolutely amazing.
So--
Yeah.
I know, right, yes, yes.
So how was that, like, when you came out,
how did people respond to that?
And did some of the players know or were
you closeted completely?
I was completely closeted the whole time.
None of the players knew.
And when I came out back in 2002,
it was more so just to find some happiness
and also we came out for our kids, our children.
Because we were tired of living in a closet.
And we wanted everybody to know that we were a family.
And all the stuff that a lot of my street friends
kind of sort of took for granted, I wanted.
And that's one of the biggest reasons why we came out.
Yeah, good for you.
Thank you.
So, and-- so obviously there are a lot of players in the NFL
that are closeted.
Right, yes.
And do you think that if people--
if more people did come out, would it be OK?
Or is it really that hard for players to come out?
Right now, we would love for somebody to come up.
I know a lot of players that are in the NFL that
aren't going to come out anytime soon until things change.
But, wow, that's a tough question.
Because I think there's a lot to do
with your personal life, religion, family,
and all of that kind of stuff.
Yeah.
But I think if more people did, it's
sort of like what's happening with all the women speaking
out.
There are a lot of women who were staying quiet--
Yes.
Because they thought they weren't
going to work in this town again if they stayed quiet.
Yeah.
And I think the same thing with closeted gay people.
If they didn't-- if they didn't have that fear--
Right.
If they thought there's power in numbers,
and if more people did say, this is who I am.
This is what gay looks like and people
saw that, they wouldn't be as frightened.
You're absolutely-- yeah, you're absolutely--
They wouldn't be as scared.
This is what gay looks like.
You know.
Yeah.
Exactly, you're totally right.
Yeah, you know.
You're so right.
So I was-- when I saw that you were booked on the show,
I knew you were eliminated.
I haven't seen it yet.
So obviously it must happen tonight.
Because I was, like, I mean, I was
really sad to hear that you got eliminated.
But I was really happy to see that you're on the board
and you were here.
Oh, my gosh.
Yeah, it was sad.
But let me tell you, I found my voice.
Something that I put on the back burner because of football.
I got to kind of bring that back and pursue this dream
that I've always wanted and that's singing.
And so I'm going to take this with me.
And I'm going to continue to sing and spread the Aloha
and spread the love.
And hopefully you all join in.
And it's going to be an incredible journey for me.
Good.
I can't wait.
OK, well you're going to sing for us, right?
Yes, I am.
All right.
[MUSIC - ESERA TUAOLO, "LONG AGO AND FAR AWAY"] Long ago
and or so far away, I fell in love with you before the second
show.
And your guitar and you sound so sweet and clear.
But you're not really here.
It's just the radio.
Don't you remember you told me you loved me baby.
You said you'd be coming back this way again.
And baby, baby, baby, oh, baby, I love you.
Oh, don't you remember you told me you love me baby.
I love you.
And I really do.
Beautiful.
I love you.
I love that song.
I love you.
Watch The Voice tonight at 8:00.
HI, I'm Andy.
Ellen asked me to remind you to subscribe to her channel
so you can see more awesome videos, like videos
of me getting scared or saying embarrassing things,
like ball peen hammer.
And also some videos of Ellen and other celebrities,
if you're into that sort of thing.
Ah.
Oh, [BLEEP].
God [BLEEP].
[MUSIC PLAYING]