Lance Armstrong appeared on Oprah Winfrey's television network tonight to admit his role in a decade-long doping scheme that reached the highest levels of professional cycling.
However, in an unexpected twist the disgraced cyclist will also be interviewed tomorrow night and will use the occasion to publicly come out as gay. A leaked extract of the interview shows Armstrong claiming that the stress of being a closeted homosexual contributed to his use of illegal performance enhancing drugs.
The shocking revelation comes as Armsrtong hopes to revive his image in the public eye. Since the allegations of doping have surfaced, he has lost all his major sponsorship and has been stripped of his Tour de France wins.
Public opinion polls show that a majority of Americans have a negative view of the former champion and cancer survivor. But in the interview, Armstrong attempts to portray himself as the sympathetic victim of a homophobic society.
"You know I think the stress of being in the closet was what led me to start doping," he tells Oprah,"I was already living a lie in my personal life, so it became easier to live a lie in my professional life."
It Gets Better
"It was so hard..." Armstrong explained as he teared up,"It was so hard to keep this deep personal secret from my parents, my friends, and my co-workers. And it was even harder to keep it from my numerous extremely hot girlfriends."
"I guess maybe I thought that being gay was a bad thing. A shameful thing. And that shame drove me to do whatever it took to excel in my career, because I needed to make up for the 'original sin' of my sexual orientation."
"But now I have learned how to accept myself. I realize that I was born this way. I'm proud of who I am and I'm really looking forward to getting involved in the struggle for LGBT rights."
Oprah, however, seemed skeptical of Armstrong's story, questioning the motives behind his confession.
"You've been married and have been linked to many more women following your split." Oprah noted "Some people might say that you're lying about being gay in an emotionally manipulative attempt to get public sympathy on your side again. How would you respond to that?"
"Oprah, I think I'm a pretty honest person," Armstrong responded,"I've only lied about one thing in my whole life...Okay maybe two things. Three things if you count the cancer. But overall I'm pretty truthful. I think people should just trust me on this one. "
Armstrong also used the occasion to announce his new charity - Live Fabulous - which will help promote the cause of marriage equality in the United States.
