You would think since announcing her pregnancy with a baby girl, the singer would be getting nothing but love and support, but that has not been the case at all.
In an interview with Nylon, the singer opened up about the backlash she has endured in response to her pregnancy and identifying as queer. Since her hit single “Honey” fans have clung to the singer titling her the “Queer Icon,” which is a title Kehlani states she was never eager to claim.
“I’ve gotten everything from ‘I thought she was lesbian’ to ‘she was using queerness to promote her career, then went and betrayed us with a man’ to ‘her baby father is just a sperm donor,'” she says, explaining the reactions she has received from her fan base.
She adds that “I never identified as a lesbian. I’ve always been pansexual. My first mixtape included songs about males, and songs about women.” The singer has also been very vocal about giving credit to those individuals who are doing way more for the LGBTQ community than she is, “there are people out there in this community fighting for equality in realer ways than making songs about it and performing at events like I am.”
The “Distraction” singer also addressed her fans in the interview informing them that though she loves being a member of the LGBTQ community, she is an artist first. The singer included that having a light shining on every aspect of her life is something she does not like.
The artist ended her interview with explaining to her fans that nothing matters more than your comfortability. “I also saw a lot of discomfort with the use of the word ‘queer,’ hinting that its used for folks to run away from identifying with a more ‘solidified’ term like bi/lesbian/gay/pan,” she exclaimed “my response is whatever makes you feel your safest, in your truest identity, you should identify as such without being policed by the same community you are supposed to feel most safe with.”
I totally agree with Kehlani and believe she should be getting nothing but love and happiness instead of hate and negativity.
Make sure you comment down below what you thought about the magazine interview.