Greyson Chance entered the public consciousness by way of an outrageously accomplished cover of Lady Gaga‘s “Paparazzi,” which went viral after he performed it for Ellen Degeneres at the ripe old age of 12.
Now, Chance has announced on Instagram that he’s gay, and explains why it took him a bit of time to acknowledge his sexuality.
“I came to fully recognize that I was gay when I was sixteen,” he writes.
“I decided not to publicize my sexuality largely due to a matter of privacy, as I was still trying to find comfort and confidence within my own skin.” He also explained his perspective that his sexuality wasn’t necessarily the most interesting topic of conversation: “I always found conversations regarding music, politics, art, books — and the greatness of Nas’ catalog —to be far more interesting than what type of guy I was into. This is still true today.”
He changed his mind after reading an inspirational message from one of his fans, which made him realize the importance of LGBTQ visibility — even if you have to find it on your own terms.
“I encourage anyone who is navigating their sexuality to devote as much time as they need to the process of finding self-confidence, self-acceptance, and self-love,” he says. “Hell, for me, it took years to write this message.”
You can read his entire message below:
Donston
As per usual when most male “celebs” publicly come out I’m left like: who?
I do like how he encourages people to aim for self-love and self-confidence. True self-acceptance can’t come until there is self-comfort, self-respect and a stable ego.
barkomatic
Good for him that he came out but I would hope he wasn’t pressured to do so or shamed for not coming out sooner. He’s a very young guy and expecting him to come out at 12 is ludicrous. In fact, I don’t think celebrities should have to come out at all if they don’t want to — nor should they be outed by those who take it upon themselves to out others for the “good” of the community. As long as they don’t spout homophobia that is–then it’s open season.
Donston
Can we just be happy for the dude instead of looking for any excuse to support the closet and gay-shame? Also, he’s hardly a “celebrity”, so I doubt he felt much pressure on that front.
BartmanLA
Actually, he’s 19 now, he wasn’t pressured or expected to come out when Ellen discovered him at 12, he worked hard and after parting ways with her record label his personal slant on his music went much more emotional and deep. He still see’s a future for himself in continuing to make new music and I for one wish him massive success. Standing up and having the courage to come out at this point in his life is courageous and brave, doing it because he was inspired by a personal message from a fan show’s how much he appreciates the support he’s been given all this time.
Danny595
Good for him for coming out. I recall seeing the following interview with him from his Singapore tour. The male interviewers spend half their time gay-baiting him, asking him about girls and asking him to comment on their bodies. They clearly knew he was gay and wanted to make him squirm. He had no choice but to sit there and get through it. Now he can tell them to drop dead.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vvMhOqEOH6o
PRINCE OF SNARKNESS aka DIVKID
Sam Smith’s liposuction runoff prettified and sparked into life
Hillers
Brutal! Any hysterical!
IanHunter
Good for him, but honestly I thought that he had been out for a couple of years. Hopefully he will have a happy life!
Bryguyf69
Good for him. And us. I think his homosexuality was pretty much an open secret, and everyone was just waiting for him to be ready. The LGBT community pretty much left him alone because not only did he never pretend to be straight, i.e with fake girlfriends, but he also did a lot of good for the community. For example, he performed at many gay events and benefits. One particularly moving performance had him changing the lyrics to list those who died from homophobia. This was just after the rash of teen suicides that resulted from bullying. The song had me in tears. I believe he was about 15 or so. I don’t know where he was in the coming out process, but I remember thinking how brave it was to be associated with a gay event at that age.
Great kid with a great talent. I hope he succeeds chasing his dreams.
Bryguyf69
My above comment was wrong. The performance I was referring to took place at an HRC event in 2011, making Chance only 13 at the time. The last thing most males — whether gay, straight, closeted or out — want to do at an age of sexual confusion is to be solidly identified with the gay community. Yet, he performed the song, Purple Sky, an anthem to gay pride and resilience. Included in the lyrics are the names who people who died from homophobia. This was just after the many teen suicides that resulted from bullying. He ended the performance thanking the audience — and “everybody for watching from above.” That acknowledgment of the deceased made us misty-eyed.
I’d be fascinated to learn more about his parents. I think it was amazingly brave and risky for his parents (and management) to book him for a gay event. Imagine the teasing the 13 y/o could have faced returning home to Oklahoma. As such, I wonder if his parents already knew or suspected that Greyson was gay, and considered a gay association to be inevitable.
If you want to see the HRC performance, search YouTube for “Greyson Chance sings ‘Purple Sky’ at 2011 HRC Dinner.” While it’s true that his voice was shaky, the kid was 13, tired and nervous. And it might have been his first gay event (the Ellen show doesn’t count!). Imagine how nerve-wracking that could be for a 13 y/o just seeing hints of of his emerging sexuality. I’ve seen him perform the song elsewhere and he’s great. To see lyrics for the song just search “Purple sky lyrics.”
Bryguyf69
If you need a reason to love and respect Greyson Chance, consider this. At just 13, he co-wrote the song, “Purple Sky,” which he later performed at an HRC event. It is available on his album, Hold On ’til the Night. I wrote more about the song and performance in a previous post. Here is what Greyson himself said about the song. Keep in mind that he was just 13 and living in Oklahoma:
” Purple Sky is a song that I wrote for the bullying campaign and what’s been going on lately. I wrote it with a girl named Danielle Brisebois. She wrote “Unwritten” for Natasha Bedingfield and “Pocketful of Sunshine.” One day I went to her house, and I was just like, “We need to do something, Danielle.” And she was like, “Well, let’s write a song about it.” And so we did, and the song came out beautifully. It’s so incredible. This song is really in my heart, so I’m really excited for it. ”
– Greyson in an interview with BlogCritics.org
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Purple skies and violet rainbows
And all the angels passing by
With their words they try to break you
But they can’t shake you with all their lies
Another day we will survive
Another day is worth the fight
Today we will rise
We will walk the rainbows and take over the sky
Don’t let them change you
No
’cause you are beautiful just like the purple sky
Black mirrors with no reflection
Broken hearts and rejection
Record times make the sound that call the angels homeward bound
Another day we will survive
Another day is worth the fight
Today we will rise
We will walk the rainbows and take over the sky
Don’t let them change you
No
’cause you are beautiful just like the purple sky
These are the words and these are the choices
We are the children, we are the voices
This is the life and these are the questions
This is the time we’re being tested
These are the words and these are the choices
We are the children, we are the voices
This is the life and these are the questions
This is the time we’re being tested (being tested)
Don’t let them change you
’cause you are beautiful just like the purple sky
You are beautiful
Tyler and Phoebe
Eric and Billy (we remember)
Megan and Raymond
Seth and Justin (we remember)
April and Brandon
Matthew and Jared (you are beautiful)
Meredith and Jeffrey (we remember)
Zach and Asher
We remember ’cause you’re beautiful
Just like the purple sky
baggins435
I’m pretty sure I saw his coming out a year or so ago.
alanballs
good for him. He’s adorable. Hope his life is filled with love, happiness, fulfillment, health and wealth.