Singer Duncan James says “awful” homophobic abuse from fans drove him to seek therapy

Singer Duncan James is once again opening up about the homophobia he has experienced since coming out as gay and going public about his relationship with fitness guru Rodrigo Reis.

James, who is best known for being a member of the UK pop boyband Blue, initially came out as bisexual in 2009. In 2012, he amended his label to gay. Then in 2019, he announced he was in a long-term relationship with Reis.

In a new interview with OK! magazine, James admits that it “took him a while” to finally come out, but after 10 years he’s finally starting to feel “really comfortable” with his identity.

“A lot of my fans in the UK have been really supportive,” he says. “But I’ve got a lot of international fans who still find it hard to accept I’m gay.”

“Rodrigo and I posted a picture and there were a few bad comments, like, ‘It’s disgusting–look at you two. You’re going to go to hell.”‘

James, who has a 16 year old daughter, previously spoke about the homophobia he’s had to endure in an interview with The Sun back in March.

When asked about how his daughter handles it, James explained, “She is at an age where she is very much into her phone, and her friends are all on social media platforms like TikTok — it’s very much her life. But she’s also aware that people could be horrible.”

“People can be quite nasty about me being gay and say quite horrible things about the fact that I’m a gay dad. People have written to her, saying, ‘Isn’t it disgusting your dad’s gay? How do you feel? You must be ashamed of him’, and stuff like that, and you’re just like, ‘Why are you writing to a kid saying stuff like that? Are you really crazy?’ People are just awful.”

He added, “I’ve had quite a lot of people from other countries writing to me in disbelief that I’m gay, saying I’m going to burn in hell, it’s a sin and I’m going to be punished by God.”

Speaking to OK!, James says the homophobic trolls had him feeling “‘a bit depressed,” so he started working with an online therapist this past year.

“We’ve all struggled with our mental health, especially this last lockdown,” he explains. “It’s been tough. I got to a point where I said to Rodrigo, ‘I feel I have no one to talk to. I can’t escape, I can’t do anything. It’s awful.””

James says working with a therapist “really helped” and “it was nice to have someone to talk to.”

In December, the singer announced he was reuniting with fellow band mates Antony Costa, Simon Webbe and Lee Ryan in time for Blue’s 20th anniversary later this year. The band has sold over 15 million records worldwide and headlined eight tours.

Scroll down for more pics from James’ Instagram page…