7 Artists Who Came Out as LGBTQ in 2023: Josh Kiszka, Yung Miami & More

In a light-hearted message to fans back in January, Lil Nas X appeared to come out publicly as bisexual by immediately guessing his fans’ responses to the news. “be fr would y’all be mad at me if i thought i was a little bisexual,” he wrote in a tweet. After receiving an overwhelming amount of love (and some genuinely funny responses) from his fans, the “Industry Baby” rapper swore “that was my last time coming out the closet i promise.”

During an interview on The Jason Lee Show back in May, City Girls rapper Yung Miami confirmed that she currently is and always has been bisexual, and that Megan Thee Stallion is exactly her type. When asked if she was bisexual, Miami nodded and said, “Sexually, I have been with a woman before. I love it … I really do like girls,” before adding that she doesn’t see herself committing to a relationship with a woman. As for Megan Thee Stallion, Miami affirmed her love for the “Savage” rapper in a game of “smash or pass,” saying “I’ma smash all day and tomorrow. Megan just gives me like … she really could take me up and throw down.”

Throughout 2023, pop singer-songwriter Lauv has been exploring his sexuality publicly. It all started in June, when the “I Like Me Better” singer released a TikTok in which he appeared to come out as not straight. The in-video caption of the clip said “when ur dating a girl but ur also a lil bit into men,” while he elaborated in the video caption. “Does it have to be that big of a deal?” he wrote. “i havent done much aside from kiss so tbh don’t wannna jump the gun but tbh i feel things and i dont wanna pretend i dont. :)”

In July, Lauv posted a six minute “update” to his YouTube channel, in which the singer elaborated on his journey with understanding his sexuality. “More recently in my 20s, I’ve pushed it down a lot, and I felt like it was anxiety. Like, I would feel feelings, or feel a connection and a vibe and whatever, and then I would shut it down,” he said. “I don’t really have any particular answers yet … it’s something that I’m exploring in my music and exploring in my mind, and I’m going to be exploring in my life.”

The latest update Lauv offered on his journey was another TikTok in late July, in which he joked about his ongoing struggle to find a label that fits him. “I’m gay, but I’m not gay, but I’m gay, but I’m not gay,” he wrote on the in-video caption.

As anti-LGBTQ bills continued to sweep through the country in June, Greta Van Fleet frontman Josh Kiszka opened up with his fans about identifying as LGBTQ. “I’ve been in a loving, same-sex relationship with my partner for the past 8 years,” he wrote in an Instagram post criticizing Tennessee passing anti-LGBTQ earlier in the year. “Those close to me are well aware, but it’s important to me to share publicly … It’s imperative that I speak my truth for not only myself, but in hopes to change hearts, minds, and laws in Tennessee and beyond.”

RuPaul’s Drag Race alumna Adore Delano shared a video message with her fans on Instagram in July, in which she opened up about identifying as a transgender woman. “I am transitioning, and I kept it really hush hush the first three months,” she said in her video. “I’ve found that it’s been very enlightening, and has made me probably the happiest I’ve ever been in my adult life.”

She went on to add that she knew she was “different” from an early age and originally came out to her mother as a teenager. When she appeared on American Idol in 2008, however, she decided to present as male, saying that she “suppressed everything” in order to “get what I wanted career-wise.” After becoming a Drag Race phenomenon, Delano continued to suppress her trans identity as a drag artist, until recently discovering that living a binary life “just did not code well with my spirit.”

At a fan event held in Tokyo in late July, J-pop idol Shinjiro Atae announced to his fans that he identified as gay. “For years, I struggled to accept a part of myself … but now, after all I have been through, I finally have the courage to open up to you about something. I am a gay man,” he wrote on Instagram. “I feared that even if I could accept the truth that I am gay, the world would never accept me as an aritst. I’ve come to realize it is better, both for me, and for the people I care about, including my fans, to live life authentically than to live a life never accepting who I truly am.”

In a later interview with Billboard, Atae revealed that he struggled with his sexuality for years, ultimately deciding to come out in person because he knew his fans would prefer “to hear it come from [my] mouth.” As for the reactions, Atae took a positive view even of the more ignorant messages he received. “Even when I read some mean comments, they still give me hope. They make me think, ‘Oh, I want to help them too.’”

In an August post to his Instagram, Whose Line Is It Anyway star, Let’s Make a Deal host and recording artist Wayne Brady revealed that he identifies as pansexual. “It’s scary as hell to say out loud but here it is. The people I admire the most are the ones brave enough to be themselves unapologetically,” he wrote. “I was so afraid of having my manhood questioned, but screw that. A ‘real man’ in my eyes, isn’t afraid to be honest and happy. From now on, I’ll be over here living my best life!”

Brady later spoke with People about his decision to come out, and how he landed on identifying as pansexual. “In doing my research, both with myself and just with the world, I couldn’t say if I was bisexual, because I had to really see what that was, especially because I really have not gotten a chance to act on anything,” he said of his identity. “To me, pan means being able to be attracted to anyone who identifies as gay, straight, bi, transsexual or non-binary. Being able to be attracted across the board. And, I think, at least for me for right now, that is the proper place.”