A week after coming out on Instagram in response to online speculation about his sexuality, Sawyer Hemsley, the cofounder and chief branding officer of Crumbl Cookies, took to the platform Tuesday with another heartfelt post. Hemsley, who has been on a hiatus from social media since the announcement, reflected on his experience of coming out in such a public way, saying the "online trolls and degrading comments" were far outweighed by the many people who reached out with words and gestures of support. He also expressed solidarity for others in the community struggling with the decision to come out and welcomed the thousands of new followers that he's gained in the past week.The full post, which went up on September 2, reads:Last week altered my life in a way Ill never forget. I shared with the world, my close friends, my family, and my neighbors that I am gay. It was one of the most vulnerable things Ive ever done, and while it came with its fair share of online trolls and degrading comments, the love and support I received was more than I could have ever imagined. To everyone who reached out, sent a message, delivered flowers, or simply showed up in their own wayI want to say thank you. Im still working on getting back to every single message, but please know how deeply grateful I am.I stepped away from social media for a week to breathe, to reset, and to recenter myself. It was a reminder of who I am, who Ive always been, and the importance of never shying away from sharing my authentic personality and energy.So heres a small recap of my week away, and a reintroduction as I step back onto social with a renewed commitment to share my story and my life with you. I also want to welcome more than 20,000 new friends who have joined me here. Im rooting for each of you, and Im so grateful youre here. I believe its only up from herewere golden together, and well continue to lead with kindness and understanding.And to those who might be facing a moment similar to mine, or to anyone feeling nervous or afraid to share their truth with the people in their livesplease know youre not alone. Your story matters, your voice matters, and when you are ready, youll find that love is stronger than fear.Hemsley's message was accompanied by a series of photographs highlighting moments from the past week, in which he appears to be celebrating with friends, French fries, and lots and lots of flowers. There are also snapshots of the mogul gripping shopping bags, taking selfies with smiling loved ones on a lake, and showing off his muscled torso all in celebration of his new chapter. See on Instagram Hemsley, who is originally from Idaho, grew up Mormon. And in his original post from August 25, he seemed to allude to his religious upbringing as a primary reason why he had remained in the closet, writing, "I grew up with values and beliefs that I still deeply love and respect, which made this journey more complicated. But I remain grateful for my foundation, even as I've worked to embrace this truth about myself."Elsewhere in the post, he framed his decision to come out as a response to what he described as "harmful" conversations around his orientation, which many speculated was at least partly a reference to a video posted August 21 by TikTok star Grant Gibbs, who later apologized to Hemsley on social media.Hemsley is hardly the first public figure to be outed via online speculation, with Heartstopper star Kit Connor representing a notable recent example. Though the practice of outing famous people against their will is widely seen as cruel and outdated a relic of an era when being queer represented, at the very least, a career-ending act.