Within hours of Ty Herndon announcing that he is gay on national TV and to magazines, another country star, Billy Gilman, said instead of making a big splash on a talk show, he wanted to tell his fans and the world that he's gay in a simple, looking-into-their-eyes video. And he did just that in a YouTube video posted yesterday (Nov. 20).
"It's taken me a good many weeks to figure out how I was to approach this video that you're watching right now," Gilman said, according to CMT. "But today, actually, a fellow country artist and friend made it easier for me to make this video. And I wanted my fans, who have stuck by me for many, many years, to know."
"It's difficult for me to make this video. Not because I'm ashamed of being a gay male artist, or a gay artist, or a gay person. But it's pretty silly to know that I'm ashamed of doing this knowing that because I'm in a genre, and in an industry, that is ashamed of me for being me."
Watch Gilman's video here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5N7MBAPZWms
Born in Rhode Island, Gilman's debut in country music came in 2000 at the age of 11 with the release of his first album, "One Voice." The album's title track reached No. 20 on the Billboard country chart. He also charted four other singles--"Oklahoma," "Warm and Fuzzy," "She's My Girl" and "Elisabeth."
"Being a gay male country artist is not the best thing," Gilman acknowledged in his YouTube video. "If people don't like your music that's one thing, but after having sold over five million records... I knew something was wrong when no major label wanted to sit down and have a meeting and listen to the new stuff. I did a showcase in Nashville and no major label showed."
Gilman also talked about the support he received from country artists he grew up listening to, such as Keith Urban, Vince [Gill] and LeAnn Rimes, the RollingStone reported.
"Not that they knew, but they have been such wonderful people," he said.
"And now recently Ty Herndon, who I've known and been a fan of. Congratulations on such a courageous effort."
"I took a long time to grow in country music, and I took a while to grow up, and recently released some new music," Gilman said, CMT reported. "We filmed a video for the single 'Say You Will' in Rhode Island and was getting ready to do an interview with a reporter, locally. And coincidentally I ran into this reporter at a local fall festival with my partner, someone who I am happily now sharing my life with. This reporter took a picture of us and it was in that moment that I knew that I'd rather it be from me, than you reading it somewhere else, and probably filled with not truth."
"You know, I've been dealing with this for ... well, I've been with my partner now for five months. So going back and forth on how I was to approach this, I thought, rather than do it on some talk show, I would do it just in front of a simple camera, very personal. I've been an advocate for so many things in my life that I thought, why not now be an advocate for me, and for the cause that I believe in with my whole heart?"
In wrapping up the video, Gilman said, "It's been a crazy day and I can honestly say I'm scared to death," CMT reported. "But I thank each and every one of you for your support. I will always strive to be the best artist that I can be. Now that I know that I have finally found my place as a person, that only makes the music that much better."
"So I thank you for your support and I know some people won't agree with this. And that's OK. To each his own. But I felt it was time for me to be honest and to be truthful. I love you all and from the bottom of my heart, I thank you."
