pride month
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NLE Choppa is making it clear that he is very accepting. He recently checked a troll over his LGBTQ+ support.
As reported by Blavity, the Memphis, Tennessee, rapper is standing on business when it comes to respecting individuals with different sexual orientations. On Thursday, June 13, he expressed his appreciation on how the LGBTQ+ community have embraced his latest single. “I want to perform Slut Me Out 2 at a pride event in return of the love y’all showed me !!” he wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. While his sentiment seemed to be genuine he did get a negative response from one user who wrote, “This n***a zesty ass be tweakin.”
The “Shotta Flow” rapper served the troll a very mature reply that confirms he gets it. “I’m secure, I know who I am. Show love it won’t hurt and also You do know women are apart of the LGBTQ community right you gone hate them too ? I mean at the least appreciate the women in that community if everything else make you uncomfortable king.”
NLE Choppa’s response quickly went viral as he received praise for his being accepting. “I swear, this man is not only beautiful on the outside, but on the inside too,” one user wrote while another said, “this is how every rapper should be, but they only worried about their image instead of showing love and not spreading hate”.
You can view the video for NLE Choppa’s “Slut Me Out 2” below.
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While Pride Month was born out of a series of protests for equality for the LGBTQ+ community, the annual commemoration has since grown to become the largest celebration of the community in 2024. And part of that celebration includes a series of music festivals. In 2024, artists have showed up to support and celebrate queer […]
JoJo Siwa may not be the creator of “gay pop,” but the singer certainly created a stir when performing at Los Angeles’ Pride in Park concert on Saturday (June 8). In fan-captured photos and clips from her performance, the former Dance Moms star appeared on stage and performed with a vodka bottle in her hand […]
For the last 40 years, pop icon Madonna has cemented her status as a bonafide gay icon. This year, the Queen of Pop wants to remind her LGBTQ fans that without them, she wouldn’t still be here. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news In a touching message […]
Among the platitudes that are shared every Pride Month, “accept yourself” is one of the most common — but pop star Kim Petras wants to examine the actual meaning behind that phrase. In a post to her Instagram Stories on Monday (June 3), the pop singer shared a “lil pride message for anyone who needs […]
Adele blasted a homophobic fans during her Las Vegas residency show over the weekend. During her Weekends With Adele concert on Saturday (June 1), which marked the beginning of Pride Month, an audience member shouted “Pride sucks” between songs. As seen in a fan-captured video, the “Someone Like You” singer briefly paused her performance at […]
This Pride Month, Billboard asked artists to write a series of love letters to their LGBTQ fans, highlighting what the community means to them as people and as artists. Below, Katie Pruitt reaffirms the community’s “hard won” pride, celebrating their collecting “bleeding heart for the underdog and zero tolerance for bigotry.”
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If you’re anything like me, “Pride” in your identity was hard won. Whether that battle was internal, external, or both, you’ve made it this far and I’m so proud of you. Most of us are bonded by the isolating and traumatizing feeling of being closeted in a largely heteronormative world, and we remember having to deeply consider how our lives will change once we get up the courage to speak those irreversible words: “I’m gay.”
Because as liberating as those words are, they are also loaded with a whole new list of challenges, uncertainties and questions. And although you’d never “go back” to a time when you had to hide yourself, this newfound visibility can be so overwhelming. Your personal life is suddenly on display for your friends and family to chime in and give their two cents.
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It’s these specific challenges that make it necessary for us to seek comfort in our queer community. We intentionally seek out and create safe spaces to go when we want to feel seen and understood. Even then, we have to keep our guard up on the off chance that we become a victim of ridicule or god forbid another hate crime.
Somewhere in your journey, I’m sure you’ve had to dig deep for the resilience necessary to keep going. Having to not only embrace your differences but use them to your advantage. You know exactly what it’s like to be “othered” and for that reason, you have a bleeding heart for the underdog and zero tolerance for bigotry.
So, no matter how “hard won” pride in your identity has been, all of these impossible milestones have made you into the fierce, self-loving, empathic and compassionate person you are today, and THAT is something to be proud of.
Love your friend, Katie Pruitt
This Pride Month, Billboard asked artists to write a series of love letters to their LGBTQ fans, highlighting what the community means to them as people and as artists. Below, JT thanks the community for supporting her, and reminds them to “hold on and stay strong” during turbulent political times. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See […]
This Pride Month, Billboard asked artists to write a series of love letters to their LGBTQ fans, highlighting what the community means to them as people and as artists. Below, Doechii pays tribute to the people who helped her “defy societal norms and embrace my true self.” Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, […]
This Pride Month, Billboard asked artists to write a series of love letters to their LGBTQ fans, highlighting what the community means to them as people and as artists. Below, Allison Ponthier thanks the community that “loved me before I knew I was worthy of love,” and offers them her love in return.
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Queer people showed me what queer love was before I knew it existed.
One of my earliest childhood memories was a family trip to a lake for Mardis Gras. I didn’t know what a gay person was then, but I knew I loved playing in the sand and eating King Cake with my uncle’s best friend. They were always together. I thought about what it would be like to have someone like they had in each other—a person always by your side, living together, laughing together. I didn’t understand it then, but that relationship I was so taken by at such a young age was the first loving gay partnership I ever witnessed, even if no one told me that’s what it was at the time.
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Around age 12 in North Texas, I had the terrifying suspicion I had a crush on my girl best friend. I thought about the year before, when a dance classmate had told me that being gay was “a man loving another man,” with an expression that told me she thought it was bizarre. I wondered what this meant for me, a girl who likes a girl. I prayed that I didn’t invent it. But a small candle burned inside me, and I thought of my uncle and his partner. I hoped that if I found my girl, I could be just like them.
Queer media gave me representation, before I knew I needed to be represented.
One day after school, I was on my broken laptop looking for shows to pass the time. I was 14 and lost in every sense of the world. There was a gorgeous, powerful woman in an ad for a television show with a peculiar name: “RuPaul’s Drag Race.” I had never heard of Miss RuPaul. I had never heard of drag. But I knew it was something I wasn’t supposed to be watching, so I literally hid in my closet and watched every episode available.
Drag queens changed my life. As a shy girl who didn’t relate to my peers at school and had a hard time at home, I attribute my survival to the only piece of LGBTQ+ media I had ever seen. It was silly, creative, hilarious, and emotional. And for the first time in my life, I realized that hope was out there for me.
Queer spaces gave me a home before I knew I could feel at home.
At 18, my only respite from chaos was at Station 4, a gay club in Dallas. They put big, ugly Xs on my hands and I danced the night away in my own corner of the world. In the real world, I felt misunderstood and unwanted. But as soon as I entered S4, almost as if I was stepping through a portal, I became someone that loved to be around others and wasn’t afraid of those around me. I loved the drag king that lip-synced to me, the queer woman that taught me how to dance, and the trans bartender that yelled at me for trying to wash off my Xs to look cooler even though I was never going to drink. (If for some reason that bartender ever sees this letter, you were right. Thank you.)
In this place, I learned that not everywhere was like the Texas I’d always known. This version of Texas, full of life and love and celebration was the home I didn’t even know was waiting for me. Thank you to queer Texans for showing me what it means to be Texan.
The queer community loved me before I knew I was worthy of love, and now it’s my turn to say: I love you.
I love you for redefining what family can be, especially chosen family.
I love you for showing me that true happiness can exist for us.
I love you for your creativity and sense of humor, against all odds.
I love you for watching out for each other and speaking your mind.
I love you for persisting and existing just as you are.
I love you for being a survivor.
No matter where you fall under the LGBTQ+ umbrella, how you present, or if you’re “out,” I love you. Thank you for what you’ve given me, just by existing.
Love,Allison Ponthier