It’s true that coming outs are getting more subtle by the minute.
Like when Glee actor Kevin McHale posted this Instagram shot of two hands that appear to be male, along with an emoji that means “I love you” in American Sign Language… Pop the champagne!
Or when former One Direction heartthrob Harry Styles sang about messing around with guys in a new song… Warm up the rainbow flag emojis, everyone!
So we understand the excitement when musician Sara Bareilles seemed to come out via a sly six-word tweet (plus one smiling angel emoji for punctuation).
How about we take this to the next level?
Our newsletter is like a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.
Bareilles was responding to a question about her hit 2007 love song, aptly titled “Love Song.”
“Would @SaraBareilles be as popular today if she wrote him a love song because he asked for it? Because he needed one?” posted Twitter user Tyler Herron into the ether.
The question refers to the lyrics of the song, which go: “I’m not gonna write you a love song / ’cause you asked for it / ’cause you need one, you see”.
Tyler probably wasn’t expecting a direct response from Bareilles herself, but that’s what he got.
“It was never about a he,” Bareilles wrote.
it was never about a he. ? https://t.co/ACV8lbFF0H
— Sara Bareilles (@SaraBareilles) April 30, 2018
Cue the coming out parade.
The tweet has been liked over 80K times, with over 12K shares.
“OMG,” wrote countless commenters.
“This song just got exponentially cooler!” wrote another alongside the obligatory rainbow flags.
There’s just one problem…
Bareilles has long acknowledged that the song is actually about her record label, which makes for much less thrilling news.
In a 2015 HuffPost interview, Bareilles said of the song: “It makes for an easy one-liner to be like, ‘So the big bad record label wanted you to write love songs and this is you fighting back.’ It’s not that it’s not true, but it wasn’t that simple.
“People sort of want to hear what they want to hear.
“It was a love song to my craft. It was a love song to my intention, to my heart and soul. I was fighting for the essence of some truth inside of me, which to me is a beautiful love song.”
Some fans knew the truth but chose to live in an alternative gay reality, which is so very 2018 don’t you think?
Even though it’s about your label….I live in an alternate universe where it’s about a she. 🙂
— jordan walker (@chasingxodreams) April 30, 2018
i know this about your label but pic.twitter.com/QVMAHaqcTE
— love, nat ? (@nataliaskiyoko) April 30, 2018
I dont care if its about her record. From now on this song is GAY.
— Svpermodel (@svpermodel) May 1, 2018
rockland2u
it was a well-crafted, response, and you could hear what you want to, (i choose GAY) however it could not be about record label, a he or a she, when i first heard it i took to be a “me”, not “he or she” it was about how she feels and reacts to others wants or needs. get it! gurl.
dwes09
The woman writes incredibly well crafted and stylistically varied songs, sings extremely well and plays several instruments with skill. I’d love it if she were gay, but alas. I’ll have to be content loving her talents.
Cylest Brooks
Agreed.
BCbreeze
Wow people, not everyone is gay, get over it.
“i know this about your label but”
“I dont care if its about her record. From now on this song is GAY”
“Even though it’s about your label….I live in an alternate universe where it’s about a she”