Rapper Isaiah Rashad has broken his silence following the leak of a sex tape in February. The video in question went viral on the internet as it appeared to depict Rashad having sex with another man.
Rashad, 30, established himself as a hip-hop artist with his albums Cilvia Demo, The Sun’s Tirade, and The House is Burning. For the most part, he’s kept his personal life private, though does acknowledge having three children from previous relationships and has spoken about his addiction to Xanex in the past.
He rose to a new level of fame in earlier this year following the leak of the aforementioned sex tape, which spread on social media.
Isaiah Rashad’s intro video at Coachella: “The purpose of doing that was to embarrass him. However, that backfired. When his video leaked, his dreams and everything went up.” pic.twitter.com/xnPUzuftmT
— Pigeons & Planes (@PigsAndPlans) April 17, 2022
At the time of the leak, Rashad didn’t comment on the footage. Openly LGBTQ men remain scarce in the world of hip hop, with Lil Nas X and Tyler the Creator being some of the only queer male performers willing to discuss their sexuality.
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.
Related: Rapper Isaiah Rashad receives flood of love and support after gossip rag posts alleged gay sex tape
Now Rashad has finally spoken out. The rapper took to the stage at the Coachella Festival on April 16 to a wild ovation from the crowd. Just before making his entrance, a video montage showed media commentary on the scandal. One voice-over clip stood out among the others: “The purpose of doing that was to embarrass him. However, it backfired.”
— Glock Topickz (@GlockTopickz_) April 17, 2022
Standing before the cheering crowd, Rashad thanked his fans for their love and support. “I see all the messages and all that sh*t, all the positivity,” he said with a quiver in his voice. “Y’all kept me alive these last couple months, so we’re going to keep this motherf*cker running.”
Rashad’s appearance set off a whole new viral movement, as fans took to Twitter to show their love, support, and admiration for his poise.
Have a look at some of our favorite responses…
isaiah rashad back!
really happy to see my guy out at coachella pic.twitter.com/HkZlCx0Jlj
— kris hooks (@Captain_Hooks) April 17, 2022
The first time Isaiah Rashad spoke on the controversy surrounding his sexuality is on one of the biggest platforms in the world. He gave a montage of all the blogs that reported on it. That’s a whole power move ??.
— Dedee ? (@thoughtfulbae) April 17, 2022
shoutout to isaiah rashad, nothing but love for that man
— SK?? (@raptalksk) April 18, 2022
Y’all see how y’all backed and supported Isaiah Rashad… now do that with the other gay Black men in your lives…
— Marquise. (@MarquiseDavon) April 17, 2022
Isaiah Rashad really has the most wholesome/normal fanbase I’ve never noticed that
— Jay (@2xIsGone) April 17, 2022
I'm happy Isaiah Rashad is okay. See how the internet, especially men reacted to that leaked video? We need that same energy for everyone and everything. Receive it positively, accepted and support the individual.
— Unemployed Mfana.eth (@yourgarcon) April 17, 2022
They buried Isaiah Rashad not knowing he's a seed. Kudos to him & to every LGBTQIA+ person in historically queerphobic spaces for claiming their space. Hopefully we can get more musicians like Saucy Santana embraced by the mainstream. If not we'll always support them nonetheless.
— Sthembiso (@sthembiisso) April 17, 2022
Gotta love seeing Isaiah Rashad thrive in front of a live audience after being silent on social media for months mans lit that stage up
— Joey (@gothamhiphop) April 17, 2022
the fact that isaiah rashad was able to turn all the talk and gossip about his sexuality into something positive in his Coachella intro. I luv this response because he’s basically telling ppl; that part of him doesn’t have to be told, it doesn’t have to have a response.
— crying to music. (@lvnarboy1) April 17, 2022
Much love to Isaiah Rashad, glad to see you back ? pic.twitter.com/LTwMksIBbj
— ZavalaDigitals? (COMMS OPEN) (@DigitalsZavala) April 17, 2022
Troyfight
Weak response. …..I tracked down the video a few months ago, and he was soft as they tried to blow him, and he managed the camera himself, btw.
Donston
What does that have to do anything?
It was an embarrassing thing to happen, something that shouldn’t happen to anyone. I don’t know him, his life, his persona or his music that well. So, I can’t say if he’s a “good person” or not, nor am I about to praise him for simply continuing with his career. But it was still a shitty thing to happen.
Did you expect him to officially “come out” at Coachella? Stuff like that (unless they purposely “leak” the vid) is traumatic and takes time to adjust to, especially if you’re legit closeted and are no where near close to be “out”, are contending with stuff like internalized phobias and gay panic and queer insecurities, are trying to sort through stuff like fluidity/questioning/contradictions, have uncertainties about the gender, sexual, affection, romantic, emotion, relationship, commitment spectrum. Hell, he could be publicly out and “gay presenting” and it’d still be embarrassing and traumatic. So, lay off.
Troyfight
Weak because he just hints and hints. Sorry, not sorry, Donston, it’s weak. Conversely, I tracked down interviews with him, before all of this, and I can say he came across as a very kind person. True, coming out could be too traumatizing right now for his personal journey etc. But given that, this hinting business with the issue comes across as weak to me and others: I’d have more respect for him if he ignored it for now. I won’t lay off, handsome Donston. Nope.
gregg2010
Who?
MISTERJETT
Isaiah Rashad!!!!! can’t you read?????
CatholicXXX
Dumb it down for me.
Is he or is he not gay/bi?
Kangol2
He had sex with a man on camera, someone leaked the video, he was humiliated and publicly attacked because he wasn’t out, he’s weathered the scandal, he isn’t using any labels, his fans support who ever he is and whoever he has sex with and loves. There you go!
[email protected]
The point is that we DON’T need to know if he is gay or bi or whatever 165 sexualities that supposedly exist. Everyone acts like we are owed an explanation from. It not our business. Get a life
Inspector 57
Exactly. I think he did a great job of addressing the issue: acknowledging the video and the chatter that ensued; sort of just shrugging his shoulders about it; and then launching into his show.
It’s nice when a celebrity explicitly comes out, however subtly or stridently. It adds visibility and is a positive example for others.
On the other hand, it’s also very cool that someone signals, “Yeah, okay, maybe I am. But that’s not what’s important here, is it?” It sets a tone that encourages everyone, especially straight people, to be okay, nonchalant about it, to not focus on it.
baby773
We as a community need to stop claiming Tyler the Creator as gay. He is just a gay baiting troll.