Melissa Etheridge kicks off LGBTQ+ Pride Month with a moving account of her own journey to living her beliefs.
The two-time Grammy Award winner spoke to iHeart Radio at the Elton John Impact Awards this week, reflecting on her decision to come out publicly for the first time during former President Bill Clinton's inauguration in 1993.
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«"It was the first time a presidential candidate actually talked about his homosexuality, not about himself, but actually said the words 'gay' and 'lesbian,'" she said. "I'd never heard the words 'gay' and 'lesbian' on TV before, you know? It was a first, and it was very exciting.".
Following Clinton's inauguration speech, Etheridge attended the Triangle Ball, hosted by prominent LGBTQ+ rights groups, along with other artists such as Kate Clinton, and felt inspired by the celebratory atmosphere there.
Melissa Etheridge (center) with Boys II Men and other singers at the inaugural People's Day celebration in 1993. Photo by Lynn Goldsmith, Getty Images.
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«"I stood up and said, 'Hey, I'm proud to be a lesbian.' And I was like, 'Wow!'" she said. "It was at the National Press Club, and… the next day, at the bottom, it said, 'And Melissa Etheridge came out as a lesbian.'".
While Etheridge's public announcement helped establish her as one of the most prominent LGBTQ+ artists in the music industry, the reaction to her coming out was initially quite muted. In fact, it wasn't until she released her fourth studio album—promisingly titled "Yes I Am"—later that year that the world at large began to take notice.
While few openly LGBTQ+ artists were achieving mainstream success at the time, Etheridge credits her sexuality with making her a "more visible person," which in turn fueled the huge buzz surrounding her album, "Yes I Am," which featured hits like "Come To My Window" and "I'm The Only One.".
In 1993, Etheridge won a Grammy Award for Best Rock Vocal Performance, Female for "Ain't It Heavy." (Photo: Ron Galella, Getty Images)
«"It's hard to say anything in the music business because things come and go," she said. "But it's a very, very male, heterosexual, predominantly white business. I prefer to ignore the negativity. I only see that there have been a lot of positives.".
On the other hand, Etheridge claimed that her family, friends, and fellow musicians knew about her sexual orientation long before she came out. In another segment of her iHeart Radio interview, she mentioned an awkward interview with Music Express in the early 1990s, in which the reporter changed all her answers to imply that her then-partner was a man.
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«"I've always been very, very careful about using pronouns like 'they,' 'them,' 'you.' My music has always been gender-neutral," she said. "The first time I was on the cover of a magazine, I opened it up, read it, and then… he changed it to 'my boyfriend.' I was like, 'Oh my God!' In the underground, people knew I was a lesbian… It just terrified me.".
Listen to Melissa Etheridge's full interview on iHeart Radio here.
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