One of the very few publicly out stars in Greater China has broken into tears on air as he recalled how he usually advised fellow gay celebs against coming out.

‘A lot of stars that aren’t so familiar with me would secretly go through friends to send me texts, saying they want to come out of the closet,’ said talk show host Kevin Tsai during a recording of the mainland Chinese online talk show U Can U Bibi.

‘As the one and only guy out there, I hope very much there are many people who can accopany me,’ recalled Tsai of the immense pressure he has to shoulder being closeted stars’ advisor as he started sobbing.

Tsai was the first male celebrity to come out in Taiwan in 2001 when writer Li Ao challenged his sexuality in the face on television in 2001.

Tsai has since become a spokesperson of sort for the gay community in Greater China, with some 32 million followers on the microblogging site Weibo.

‘From my point of view, you can just come out of the closet 10 minutes later and shock your fans with the fact that the idol they are so crazy for has once hidden his true self.’

But he went on to say, ‘Rationally, however, I would tell you not to do so if you were my brother. Can we perhaps wait for half a year or so until you have calmed down?’

While he believes out stars can show worried parents that gay people ‘aren’t monters’ and help break other closets, chances are these fellow celebs may not be able to withstand the same kind of pressure he has faced as they strive for their career.

‘When I urge them to be brave and come out, I won’t be able to take care of them.’

Tsai later admitted it was atypical of him to be so emotional during a show, but thanked all supporters for their care in a Weibo post on Wednesday.

‘For heterosexual people, homosexuality is just a topic. For gays, it is not so but a real life thay we live every day, every minute and every second.’

The show in Mandarin can be watched here: