rock god

Lenny Kravitz opens up about his relationship with gay men during the early days of his career

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Lenny Kravitz

For 30 years, gays have been hoping Lenny Kravitz was gonna go our way.

While Kravitz is – unfortunately for us – straight, he’s always been a staunch LGBTQ+ ally.

I mean, only a true fan of the queer community could bequeath us the thirstiest music video ever featuring jaw-dropping shots of Kravitz’s ridiculously ripped body in the visuals for his track “TK421.” 

Take another peek at the jacked 59-year-old rocker in all his natural glory below:

With the rock icon set to release his 12th studio album, Blue Electric Light, in the coming months, Kravitz is now opening up about how the gay community has been a major influence on his career and life from the get-go.

While many might attribute his penchant for flashy and body-baring ensembles to fashion-forward queers, Kravitz says the gay community has supported him in deeper ways.

“Not only in fashion and style, because that’s just something on top,” he told Esquire. “They raised me. I was in the street—my choice—and it was the eighties in West Hollywood. It was that time; artists, musicians, hairstylists, and designers, those were the people I was hanging out with.”

He added: “I wanted to be around the creatives, and most of the people I met were from that community.” They “protected me. Educated me. Fed me.”

Kravitz previously discussed how he based “the vibe” of his character Cinna in the original The Hunger Games films on his queer friend, but noted that the character’s sexuality was not a factor.

“I have no idea [if Cinna is gay]. The beauty is, it doesn’t even matter: Here we are in this Capitol, and everybody’s outrageous. I mean, who knows what everybody’s doing? Or they’re all doing everything. So that was the beauty of it, and the book doesn’t state what he is or what he’s doing,” he told Vulture in 2012.

“I was very inspired by this friend of mine I grew up with, a person who is a dancer and performer and he happens to be bisexual. I based a lot of the vibe on this friend of mine, my speech patterns, and the way I kind of sauntered in and out of a scene.”

Although Kravitz is known for his fearless style —who else could rock a giant scarf so effortlessly — he was quick to laud praise on another flamboyant rock legend for paving the way for so many.

Following the death of Little Richard in 2020, Kravitz reflected on the pioneering queer musician’s legacy.

“He was fearless in a time where there was a lot to be fearful of. To be that bold, to be that flamboyant, to be that original, he didn’t care what would happen or what the results would be. He was just on a path. He knew who he was. He knew what he came to do. I think that is so amazing and so powerful, especially at that time,” Kravitz told Rolling Stone.

“To be a black man and invent this powerful art form that would influence every race in every corner of the world, and to then have the flair that he had with his dress, with his makeup, with his hair, with his attitude. It was beautiful. I don’t know how many folks at that time had the power to be that fearless and that fierce.”

Most recently, Kravitz lent his voice to exalt late gay civil rights icon Bayard Rustin by writing and recording the song “Road to Freedom” for the soundtrack of the Netflix biopic Rustin, starring Colman Domingo in the titular role.

“Bayard Rustin, one of the greatest activists and organizers the world has ever known, was all but erased from history for being an openly gay Black man,” Kravitz captioned a clip of the song.

“RUSTIN shines a long-overdue light on the extraordinary man who, alongside Reverend Martin Luther King Jr., Adam Clayton Powell Jr., and Ella Baker, dared to imagine a different world, inspiring a movement in a march toward freedom.”

With Kravitz having a history of paying homage to his queer heroes, let’s take a second to lavish praise on the “Let Love Rule” singer by gazing respectfully at some more of his amazing social snaps:

Related:

PHOTOS: Lenny Kravitz looks better shirtless at 56 than most ever will

He also discussed his infamous full-frontal wardrobe malfunction.

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