Happy Pride Month! In celebration of the LGBTQ+ community, we are here to tell you about some of the industry’s best allies, who do not identify directly with the community but are certainly advocates for them.
Videos by American Songwriter
Kurt Cobain
To begin this list is the ’90s grunge icon, Kurt Cobain. During his lifetime, he claimed in an interview with Advocate that “If I wouldn’t have found Courtney, I probably would have carried on with a bisexual lifestyle,” and that he is “definitely gay in spirit.”
To back these claims, Cobain played a “No on #9” concert in support of LGBTQ+ rights. He made the statement about Measure 9, saying it “goes against American traditions of mutual respect and freedom, and Nirvana wants to do their part to end bigotry and narrow-mindedness everywhere.”
Furthermore, Nirvana also released statements on homophobia in their albums as well. On the album, In Utero, they wrote a note saying, “If you’re a sexist, racist, homophobe or basically an a–hole, don’t buy this CD. I don’t care if you like me, I hate you.”
Kacey Musgraves
The country music star never shied from her allyship and has been one since the very beginning. She originally advocated for the community in her 2013 song “Follow Your Arrow,” featured on her first studio album, Same Trailer Different Park. With the lines, make lots of noise, kiss lots of boys, or kiss lots of girls if that’s something you’re into… just follow your arrow wherever it points, Musgrave gained a large following from the LGBTQ+ and became an icon for them.
Additionally, in Musgrave’s music video for “Rainbow,” the story follows a young queer man’s struggle as his family refuses to accept him.
Beyond music, she joined Billboard’s Pride Month campaign where they wrote supportive letters to the LGBTQ community detailing her conservative upbringing in Texas and how the group has truly changed her. On Twitter, she continually supports and shares her voice on issues.
Harry Styles
Harry is known for his gender-bending appearance, draped in pearls, nails painted, and on occasion, in a dress. He detests the binary that holds us all.
In an interview with The Guardian, Styles discusses his dress saying, “I think it’s a very free, and freeing time. I think people are asking ‘Why not?’ a lot more, which excites me. It’s not just clothing where lines have been blurred, it’s going across so many things. I think you can relate it to music, and how genres are blurring [sexuality].”
In concert, Styles also is known to wave LGTBQ+ flags, from the bisexual flag to the transgender flag, or help a fan come out to her mother. He has made Pride Month merch drops with its notations going to LGBTQ+ charities. He views human rights as fundamental rather than political. And, in terms of sexuality, he takes a similar approach as Cobain and says, “It’s: who cares? Does that make sense? It’s just: who cares?”
Carly Rae Jepsen
Do you remember the 2012 smash hit “Call Me Maybe” that Carly Rae Jepsen wrote and performed? The ending of the music video shocked the world with its gay twist. A lot of people don’t know what happened to Jepsen after her hit. But, the queer community closely followed her.
Jepsen’s 2015 album, Emotion, became a hit with the LGBTQ+ community. Many have looked closely at her work and lyricism, seeing a lot of identification within it. Themes like alienation, impossible love, denial, longing, balance, and restraint that many queer people identify with run rampant through the album.
In terms of activism, she canceled a performance at the Boy Scouts of America’s National Scout Jamboree in 2013 because they banned gay people from joining. She has played in numerous Pride festivals, including a festival that Freedom to Marry hosted in NYC in 2015.
Photo from Sony press release
