’90s R&B sensation Tevin Campbell has confirmed he identifies as a gay man. He opened up about his sexuality on an episode of People‘s Every Day Podcast, noting that although he doesn’t think of himself as a “sex symbol” for the ladies, he is proud of the hits he made.
“I didn’t hide anything about me. I didn’t try to act a certain way or anything,” he said, while indicating that in R&B, “You just couldn’t be [gay] back then.”
During his interview, Campbell also revealed that he had first come out to his loved ones ages ago, however, felt more comfortable as a member of LGBTQ+ community when he landed the role of Seaweed in the Broadway musical, Hairspray, as he was surrounded by other LGBTQ+ people.
“When I came out to my family and friends [at] about 19 or 20, that was it for me. And then I went on the road of discovering myself. I didn’t know who I was,” he said. “Being around people who were like me, LGBTQ+ people that were living normal lives and had partners. I had never seen that,” he says. “That was a great time in my life.”
Elsewhere in the interview, he praised Frank Ocean and Lil Nas X for being open about their queerness and expressed gratitude for the fact that children will grow up with those role models.
“It wasn’t like that in the ’90s, but I’m glad I get to see it. I’m glad that’s changing,” he said. “There are a lot of kids, especially young Black boys that need to see representation. They’re not being taught to love themselves because of who they are.”
Tevin Campbell is a Warner Music artist. .
