Paul ruebens gay

But fame was way more complicated.”

Pee-wee as Himself was first announced in 2021, with Matt Wolf directing and Josh Safdie and Benny Safdie serving as executive producers. “I wasn’t pursuing the Paul Reubens career, I was pursuing the Pee-wee Herman career.”

Even though he stayed mum while people gossiped, he confirms he had "many, many secret relationships."

“I was secretive about my sexuality even to my friends [out of] self-hatred or self-preservation,” he continues in the series.

He adds that in the 1980s, AIDS “scared the heck out of me.”

“Pee-wee as Himself,” a two-part documentary, will be released on HBO sometime later this year.

“It’s still a significant footnote … 30 years later I still feel the effects all the time.”

Elsewhere in the documentary, Reubens details hardships the public wasn’t privy to, like his struggle with identity when Pee-wee Herman first took off. Throughout the 1980s, the character became a fixture on late night television, landing the star his Emmy-winning children’s show, “Pee-wee’s Playhouse,” and two hit films.

I have loved you all so much and enjoyed making art for you."

In 1986, "Pee-wee's Playhouse" premiered on CBS and the Saturday morning children's program ran until 1990. Your culture and entertainment cheat-sheet.

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“I spent my entire adult life hiding I was a huge weed head. "He was key to the return. Sitting down for over 40 hours of interviews for the HBO documentary Pee-wee as Himself, the actor, comedian, and Pee-wee Herman creator came out as gay, discussed his “devastating” scandals, and offered new insight into a life that he had always kept secret.

“I had many, many secret relationships,” Reubens says in the documentary, which premiered this week at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival.

It's slated to air on HBO and Max later this year.

"I was as out as you could be, and then I went back in the closet," Reubens says in the documentary. “It’s shocking what horrible, awful stuff people think about me,” he says. It was devastating.”

Indeed, the media backlash had a lasting impact on Reubens.

"Since he had been extremely private throughout his life, talking about his sexuality was probably the most sensitive thing we had to navigate together."

"I’m gay and I’ve made several films about queer history, so I empathize with the experiences of artists and entertainers like Paul from different generations," Wolf said. And he wanted to do a road movie, something that was a nod toward 'Big Adventure.' "

(This story has been updated with new information.)

Contributing: Brian Truitt, Bryan Alexander and Kim Willis