R&B superstar Tevin Campbell is embracing his sexuality
Tevin Campbell is opening up about his sexuality following years of speculation.
Singer Tevin Campbell says he is embracing who he is after continuous questions about whether he is gay or not.
The R&B superstar chatted about his sexuality during an interview on the PEOPLE Every Day podcast.
Tevin, who brought us hits such as 'Can We Talk', says he came out to his family and friends when he was 19 or 20.
"And then I went on the road of discovering myself. I didn't know who I was," the 45-year-old told host Janine Rubenstein.
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The 'I'm Ready' hitmaker caused a stir earlier this year when he responded to a tweet about his sexuality.
A Twitter user posted: 'My mom keeps telling me Luther Vandross, Teddy Pendergrass, and Tevin Campbell were gay.'
He replied: "Tevin is. [rainbow flag emoji]"
The rainbow flag emoji is often used in the LGBTQI community. The tweet appeared to be Tevin's way of coming out, but he later deleted the comment, leading to more confusion about his sexuality.
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Speaking to Janine, Tevin says his response to the tweet was a "casual thing".
"I don't care what people that I don't know or will never meet think. I love my fans, but what they think about my sexuality is of no importance to me."
The singer says his journey of self-discovery began shortly after stepping away from music. He scored a role in the Broadway play, 'Hairspray', in 2004 and also performed the character in the same musical in Australia.
Those six years changed his life.
"Being around people who were like me, LGBTQ+ people that were living normal lives and had partners. I had never seen that. That was a great time in my life," he said on the podcast.
Tevin says he is glad that artists like Lil Nas X get to share that part of themselves with their fans.
"I hate that it wasn't like that in the '90s, but I'm glad I get to see that. I wouldn't have been prepared when I was a kid to be a spokesperson of the LGBTQI+ community. I'm glad that's changing becasue there are a lot of kids, especially young Black boys that need to see representation."
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Listen to Tevin's full interview below:
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Main image credit: Instagram/@tevincampbell