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Gay Country music singer Sam Williams on coming out publicly: “It is scary, but it feels good”
Happy Friday all!
You know, I can get very busy with my day job at USC and there are days I don’t have as much time to devote to the blog as I would like to. But then I see something like this and it makes me so happy that I have continued with this for so long because it means having a platform to shine a light on brave and talented people like Sam Williams.
The son of Hank Williams Jr says in an interview with Apple’s Hunter Kelly:
“I identify as gay, and I’ve never said that to anybody else. I mean, people at my label know and people in my personal life know, but this is the first time that I’ve ever been, besides a show or two, that I’ve ever been this public about it. And it is scary, but it feels good.”
Williams said it was “exhaustive” to conceal who he was when he was younger, and that, “if I was a kid, and I was younger, and I saw somebody like myself doing an interview like this and just saying that, ‘This is who I am and I’m proud to be who I am,’ that it would have been impactful for me. So I think at the end of the day, that’s one of the most important reasons why I’m being so open.”
H/T: Queerty
Below is the video for Sam’s autobiographical song Tilted Crown:
Comments
(All comments are reviewed before being published, and I review submissions several times per day.)
Victor C. says:
Greg–
Thanks for sharing the news about Sam Williams.
Being a tad bit older than you, it feels me with joy of young people today living their truth younger and younger, and bolder and bolder.
I grew up when being gay was medically classified as a mental illness and the consequences of being discovered had hard repercussions.
My prayer is that young folks don’t forget how they got the freedom of being gay. I challenge them to embrace their gay history. And don’t take their freedoms for granted.
Have a great weekend.
Tommy Marx says:
A couple of things:
1. I have exactly two gay sites that I have bookmarked and visit at least once a day and usually multiple times, your site and Joe.My.God. As someone that used to have his own blog for a while and has written for several other sites (although those were related to comic books or one-hit wonders) off and on, I don’t know how much this takes out of you to keep this site running but I can guess. And I appreciate it. And I’m definitely not the only one who does.
2. I grew up in a Fundamental Christian environment that was extremely loving and nurturing while also being terrifying and crippling; imagine being told every day how much the gods love you while at the same time being fully aware that the gods also thought I was an abomination. And that’s not hyperbole, that’s actually in their bibles. I used to pray to them and ask them to make me attracted to a woman. They didn’t have to take away my gay (although that would be awesome if they would!), they didn’t have to make me a horndog that wanted to fuck any and every woman that ever crossed my path, I just wanted to be attracted to one single woman so I could pass as normal.
That is so completely fucked up, and I battled depression and suicidal dreams for decades just because other people convinced me I was somehow evil for wanting a man instead of a woman. That’s just not right.
But with all that, I can’t even begin to imagine what it must be like for a young man like Sam Williams to not just go through what I imagine was a similar environment growing up as mine but to be part of a famous line of singers that were idolized as the epitomy of heterosexuality and masculinity.
Thank you for giving him a forum and for introducing him to your readers. I applaud his courage, his honesty, his talent, and his mastery of lyrics, and I’m so glad that I live in a world where people like Sam can have an outlet to express their truths and people like you post day after day stories and videos and news highlights that brighten my day.
I am very grateful for your blog, and I appreciate all the work you put into it. Much love, my friend.
Greg Hernandez says:
Thank you Tommy – so appreciated