LADY LESHURR IS GAY TIMES' FIRST PANSEXUAL COVER STAR - PREVIEW NOW

WORLD EXCLUSIVE FOR GAY TIMES AS LADY LESHURR IS THEIR FIRST PANSEXUAL COVER STAR

SHE DISCUSSES BIGOTRY IN THE INDUSTRY AND HOW SHE WAS TOLD TO KEEP HER SEXUALITY A SECRET

OCTOBER 2018

OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE


NEWS PROVIDED BY
Sony Music

Lady Leshurr on coming out publicly as pansexual:

“From my first Queen’s Speech I said ‘I kissed a girl and I liked it ting, I take your girl and I wife it ting’. I’ve been saying what I like. People only listen to what they want or they just think I’m bantering.

“I’m just happy that I don’t have to hide anything anymore, I am free. In life you have to tell the truth, you have to feel comfortable in your own skin and now I feel so comfortable in my own skin.

“I don’t have to hide anything anymore. My sexuality doesn’t define who I am.

“Life is all about growth, just developing and understanding yourself and being more confident. I understand feeling trapped, I understand feeling like you can’t be yourself. If you want to come out, you have to come out yourself. It’s not anybody’s place to out someone.

“I remember searching on the internet ‘Lady Leshurr gay’ and ‘Lady Leshurr lesbian’ just to see what I used to put out back in 2008/2009, and I realised I was trying to come out but no one was giving me the ‘it’s fine, it’s okay to come out’".

On being outed by an ex:

“The way she outed me was quiet malice and she tried to out someone else out in the tweet as well and I don’t think it was respectful at all, it was really mean. The thing is, people actually knew we were going out, it was just never confirmed. Initially, I thought I could ignore what she’s tweeted about me and just pretend like nothing’s happened and simply carry on doing my music, but then I thought no, I’m gonna actually turn this negative into a positive. I’ve grown so much since then and I learned from that whole situation.

“There were certain people around me at the time that started treating me differently and acting a bit funny with me. I was shocked and I quickly learnt that all that meant was that those people were not meant to be in my life.

“If you can’t take me for who I am then you can leave. At the end of the day I’m not going to stop being myself. The whole situation showed me who was real and who wasn’t, who was meant to be around me and who didn’t deserve my time and energy”.

On being pressured to remain in the closet:

“My ex-manager told me coming out wasn’t a good look or the right move for me or my career. I remember it made me feel so depressed because I wasn’t being allowed to be my authentic self and honestly, speaking from experience, I understand how it can make someone feel trapped, give you low self-esteem and anxiety, because you can’t fully be yourself. People’s opinions are the reason sometimes you can’t be yourself and it’s sad. People can be really mean”.

On being welcomed by the queer community:

“The support has been amazing, it’s been incredible. I put a statement out on Instagram to finally let people know, and so many people reached out to me. It was beautiful. From kids in school, to both men and women, I didn’t know I was role model in that sense. Like, I didn’t know that I inspired people like that. I didn’t think me officially saying ‘I like girls and guys’ would result in so many people telling me how proud they were of me.

“I was getting messages saying ‘What do I do? I’m going through the same thing. I don’t know if I should say anything. I want to come out now because you have.’ To hear that warmed my heart because I never knew me telling my story was going to inspire so many people to tell theirs, and this is why staying true to who you are is important.

“People are looking up to me like ‘Wow, you’ve done it – now I can do it.’ That’s what I love the most about helping others. Just seeing others come out and be confident and comfortable in their own skin, because I took that step”.

On coming to terms with her pansexuality:

“Kehlani introduced me to the term pansexual. I had never heard of it and after reading her tweets, I felt like everything she was saying applied to me. I researched it and was like ‘That’s me, That’s what I am’. I like everybody.

“I always thought I was bisexual. I started realising – especially this year – who I was attracted to. I would see drag queens and be attracted to them and I would see trans people and be attracted to them. I’m still attracted to guys and girls so it was at that point I realised gender has nothing to do with it. It’s more about the connection, the energy and the vibe that people bring around me – that’s what really draws me in.

“I’ve never been a person to look at somebody’s appearance and judge them on that. It’s always been about connection and that’s definitely why I identify as pansexual".

On the importance of safe spaces to QPOC:

“It’s imperative that we have these clubs, these events, these locations for the LGBTQ community – especially the PoC community – because there’s not that much. We need these places so we can go somewhere and feel safe whilst having fun and be around the people we know and are comfortable being around”.

On representation:

“Representation is really really important because there’s only a minority of us. I don’t know anybody else that’s Black, British and gay that really came out in the music industry and is wearing it proud except me and MNEK”.

Source Sony Music

September 21, 2018 5:16am ET by Sony Music  

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