--- title: Joel Kim Booster on Fire Island and Chosen Family description: The multi-hyphenate comedian, actor, writer, and producer on a banner year and the way his support system changed his life. canonical: https://time.com/6218183/joel-kim-booster-chosen-family/ author: Moises Mendez article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2022-10-06T13:23:43.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-14T09:40:29.974Z article:section: Entertainment og:title: Joel Kim Booster on the Life-Saving Power of Chosen Family og:description: The multi-hyphenate comedian, actor, writer, and producer on a banner year and the way his support system changed his life og:url: https://time.com/6218183/joel-kim-booster-chosen-family/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdc1a38350355779d/698a32f509208fcb55419452/JKBCS_Unit_03343_R.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4500 og:image:height: 2531 og:image:alt: Joel Kim Booster og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Joel Kim Booster on the Life-Saving Power of Chosen Family twitter:description: The multi-hyphenate comedian, actor, writer, and producer on a banner year and the way his support system changed his life twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdc1a38350355779d/698a32f509208fcb55419452/JKBCS_Unit_03343_R.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Joel Kim Booster on the Life-Saving Power of Chosen Family > Sponsored content. 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Terms and conditions apply. * Savings buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Savings Account. * No ATM fees from Ally Bank at Allpoint and Moneypass ATMs plus we reimburse for fees charged by other ATM owners nationwide up to $10 per statement cycle. * Early direct deposit offers eligible direct deposits up to two days sooner. * Spending buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Spending Account. ## Video: Joel Kim Booster on the Life-Saving Power of Chosen Family [Watch (HLS stream): Joel Kim Booster on the Life-Saving Power of Chosen Family](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/eBOWH4Gc.m3u8) (3:12)  _Published 2022-10-05. Chosen family has been a central theme in Joel Kim Booster’s life. The 34-year-old multi-hyphenate highlighted this hilariously and poignantly in his first feature film, Fire Island, which he co-produced, wrote, and starred in._  by [Moises Mendez](https://time.com/author/moises-mendez-ii/)  ## Moises Mendez Oct 6, 2022 1:23 PM UTC Chosen family has been a central theme in Joel Kim Booster’s life. The 34-year-old multi-hyphenate highlighted this hilariously and poignantly in his first feature film, Fire Island, which he co-produced, wrote, and starred in.  by [Moises Mendez](https://time.com/author/moises-mendez-ii/)  ## Moises Mendez Oct 6, 2022 1:23 PM UTC Chosen family has been a central theme in [Joel Kim Booster’s](https://time.com/collection/time100-next-2022/6213738/joel-kim-booster/) life. The 34-year-old multi-hyphenate highlighted this hilariously and poignantly in his first feature film, _Fire Island_, which he co-produced, wrote, and starred in. The movie, which adapts Jane Austen’s _Pride & Prejudice_ with a queer spin, was released on Hulu in June, and it resonated broadly with the LGBTQ+ community. Booster was showered with praise by critics and viewers alike, who thanked him for depicting queer, Asian characters with complexity and nuance. “I think we should be demanding more than just representation at this point,” Booster tells TIME. “Ultimately, there has to be depth, there has to be more, and without that, it’s not representation at all.” In addition to his popular movie, Booster released a [Netflix stand-up special,](https://time.com/6189174/joel-kim-booster-interview/) _Psychosexual_, and co-starred in the [Apple TV+ comedy _Loot_](https://time.com/6188686/loot-review-apple-maya-rudolph/), with [Maya Rudolph](https://www.google.com/search?q=site%3Atime.com+Maya+Rudolph&rlz=1C5GCEM%5FenUS992US992&sxsrf=ALiCzsavRoD06Vur9gglj6rFCnWe8o9YZA%3A1665062360628&ei=2NU-Y8DxJcegptQPmaCM4As&ved=0ahUKEwjAvaLU2Mv6AhVHkIkEHRkQA7wQ4dUDCA4&uact=5&oq=site%3Atime.com+Maya+Rudolph&gs%5Flcp=Cgdnd3Mtd2l6EANKBAhBGAFKBAhGGABQ9QFY9QFg6ANoAnAAeACAASSIASSSAQExmAEAoAECoAEBwAEB&sclient=gws-wiz#:~:text=Maya%20Rudolph%20Is,%E2%80%BA%20Entertainment%20%E2%80%BA%20Television) and [Michaela Jaé Rodriguez](https://time.com/collection/women-of-the-year/6150544/michaela-jae-rodriguez/)—and that was just what he accomplished in June. In his special, he opened up about being bipolar, something he’d never discussed onstage before, as well as his relationship with his adoptive parents, and more. Booster has spoken in the past about his strained relationship with his parents, how his sexuality “became this thing in my life that we didn’t talk about” because of the evangelical lifestyle he was raised in. When his father died in 2021, Booster said he “regretted never being able to introduce him to somebody or figure out where we stood about that part of my life.” But he had a touching phone conversation with his mom when he started dating his current partner, which made him feel more secure in their bond. In working through his strained relationship with his parents, though, Booster says it “really emphasized how important the people in my life \[were\] that I had chosen to be around me,” he said. “A lot of queer kids learn earlier in life is that your family sometimes cannot be everything for you,” he says, “so you have to find the people who can pick up the slack.” ## Transcript [00:01] I came out first, when I was 16 at school to friends, [00:08] and I was pretty open for that first year of being out. [00:13] But my family didn't know mostly because I come from a very [00:18] religious family, a very vangelico family. [00:20] A very conservative family and I knew that they wouldn't [00:23] really Vibe with that. [00:26] And from there, I mean, it was a pretty tumultuous moment [00:31] in my life. [00:31] I ended up moving out of my house and I didn't really talk to [00:38] my parents until I was in college again. [00:40] We reconciled eventually and it just became sort of this thing [00:46] in my life that we didn't talk about. [00:47] I ended up meeting my current boyfriend and I remember calling [00:52] my mom and it was way too soon in a relationship to be like [00:56] talking to my mom about him. [00:57] But I just wanted to see you like, [00:59] hey, Mom, like [01:01] I'm seeing this person. [01:02] He seems really special. [01:03] Like what would you do if I brought him home and she paused and [01:08] she just said, you know, we're not on the same page about [01:11] that part of your life, but if you brought someone home that [01:14] you loved, I would love him as much as I love. [01:16] Dan is my brother-in-law. [01:18] That my sister is married to and that was really powerful [01:23] and special for me, you know, it's not like necessarily [01:25] that 100% [01:27] the fairy tale ending of my mom's roof falling to her knees [01:30] and apologizing for her backwards beliefs or anything like that, [01:33] but it is such a huge distance away from where we were. [01:38] When I first came out [01:41] Romance and the desire and the longing for connection [01:46] and companionship is like so ingrained in us as human beings [01:50] that it's hard to tell a story without having some element of [01:54] that. [02:01] The highlight of the Year for me is is absolutely Fire Island. [02:11] The work that we did on this film was really, [02:13] really incredible. And I think especially the Highlight [02:16] for me was going back to Fire Island in premiering the movie [02:19] and to be there with my cast and and just, [02:22] you know, it just feels so surreal. [02:24] It's a hard lesson to learn. [02:27] I think a lot of people learn later in life that a lot of [02:30] queer kids learn earlier in life, is that your family? [02:33] Sometimes cannot be everything for you. [02:35] The thing that saved my life when I came out, [02:39] especially at that young of an age with having a support [02:42] system of really great friends and chosen family. [02:47] So, I think it's really a question of looking around in your [02:51] life and and making sure to gather those people close to you [02:54] and Shoring up that support from wherever you can find it and [03:00] then making those steps. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/6218183/joel-kim-booster-chosen-family/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/6218183/joel-kim-booster-chosen-family/"},"headline":"Joel Kim Booster on the Life-Saving Power of Chosen Family","datePublished":"2022-10-06T13:23:43.000Z","dateModified":"2026-10-14T09:40:29.974Z","description":"The multi-hyphenate comedian, actor, writer, and producer on a banner year and the way his support system changed his life","url":"https://time.com/6218183/joel-kim-booster-chosen-family/","keywords":["identity","LGBTQ","culturepod","sponsorshipblock topic","Celebrating LGBTQIA History"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdc1a38350355779d/698a32f509208fcb55419452/JKBCS_Unit_03343_R.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Moises Mendez","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/moises-mendez-ii/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdc1a38350355779d/698a32f509208fcb55419452/JKBCS_Unit_03343_R.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Joel Kim Booster","caption":"Joel Kim Booster","creditText":"Terence Patrick—Netflix","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/tag/identity/","name":"identity"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/6218183/joel-kim-booster-chosen-family/","name":"Joel Kim Booster on the Life-Saving Power of Chosen Family"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Joel Kim Booster on the Life-Saving Power of Chosen Family","description":"Chosen family has been a central theme in Joel Kim Booster’s life. 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