Tevin Campbell is opening up about his sexuality, coming out to the world this week as a gay man in an interview with the People magazine podcast "People Every Day."
"When I came out to my family and friends [at] about 19 or 20, that was it for me," the "I'm Ready" singer said. "And then I went on the road of discovering myself. I didn't know who I was."
Campbell said he didn't try to hide anything about himself or act "straight," but acknowledged how difficult it was to be publicly gay in the '90s. He said he was "glad he gets to see" queer stars such as Frank Ocean and Lil Nas X and noted how affirming their success is for young Black boys still discovering themselves.
"When we can get to the place in society where somebody can just say, 'Yeah, I'm gay,'" Campbell said. "Every person in the world isn't straight. Get over it! When you get to a point in your life where you love yourself so much and you don't give a damn what people say or think about you, that feels so good."
Earlier this year, the R&B singer fueled speculation about his sexuality when the "Can We Talk" hit-maker tweeted (and later deleted) "Tevin is [rainbow flag emoji]" in response to a user saying she had heard that he, Luther Vandross and Teddy Pendergrass were all gay. Campbell followed it up by responding "I'll live" to someone who offered insincere congratulations on his "soon-to-be ban from the state of Florida."
Campbell is coming out publicly almost 20 years after he declared he was not gay but he was a "try-sexual" in an interview with Sister 2 Sister magazine.
"I'm not gay, but there are a lot of different things that I do like, sexually," Campbell said when asked about his sexuality. "Being in the business, you are introduced to a lot of different things. I'm not gay but I'm a freak and I think a lot of people know what a freak is."
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