JUDAS PRIEST frontman Rob Halford, who publicly came out as gay in 1998 during an MTV News appearance, spoke candidly about ongoing homophobia in the United States during a recent interview on the Queer The Music podcast, hosted by Jake Shears.
Reflecting on changes in attitudes toward sexuality in the heavy metal world since his coming out more than 25 years ago, Halford acknowledged progress but stressed that homophobia persists, particularly in America.
“Oh, yeah, although depending on where you’re at. America is still incredibly homophobic,” Halford said (as transcribed by Blabbermouth). “I’ve lived here for a long time and I’ve seen a lot happen since the ’80s. It really gets me angry and upset. But when I go on stage and perform with PRIEST, some guys will say, ‘I love JUDAS PRIEST, but I’m not gay.’ [Laughs] You know that thing — ‘I’m a huge fan of PRIEST, but I’m not a gay guy’ — that still lives with me now to some extent. It might be a fraction. But when I walk out on stage, when PRIEST is doing headline tours and I know that everybody has come there to see this band and hear the songs that we’ve made and watch us perform, surely they’re there with complete acceptance in their heart. Everybody in that room is, like, ‘Well, we don’t care’ — as they shouldn’t. They shouldn’t care. This labeling, it shouldn’t be a part of anything. They shouldn’t care. It’s about what you’re doing. It’s about your art and your craft and your work. That’s all that matters. So to be able to do that at this point in my life and to look back and to see how I got through all that stuff, it is an absolute miracle. Somebody’s been watching me from up there or over my shoulder for such a long time. And I’m aware of that now as I feel I’ve got a slightly better understanding of life through wisdom.”
Looking back on his decision to publicly declare his sexuality, Halford recalled, “I was in a band called 2WO. It was a very short-lived project that Trent Reznor and I were involved with, and [so was] John 5. So I’m in New York doing a presser for 2WO, and I’ve got my black eyeliner on, I’ve got this fur coat. It’s on MTV, the bald head and everything. We’re talking about, da, da, da. They’re talking about the band. And I go, ‘Well, speaking as a gay man, this is’ blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And then I heard somebody’s clipboard drop on the floor, because I had literally formally announced to the world that I’m a gay man. So I did that show. I went back to the hotel, sat in the room, going, ‘What have I done? What have I done?’ And I was, like, ‘I don’t care.'”
Halford also discussed returning to JUDAS PRIEST as an openly gay man after spending over a decade on other projects.
For the guys to welcome me back and not even mention it, again, it was just a pure act of love,” he said. “So it’s a great story of the day of coming out. And then, ‘What have I done?’ to to ‘We don’t care.’ Again, it’s all about the music.”
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