Tevin Campbell Shares How He’s ‘Embraced’ His Identity As a Gay Man
After a career in the common eye with enormous chart hits, lauded Broadway performances and a much-beloved tune in a ’90s Disney classic, R&B star Tevin Campbell is ready to let fans in on a part of his personal life. In a new interview on the PEOPLE Every Day podcast, Campbell confirmed that he identifies as a gay gentleman, and took a look back on what led him to officially reveal up to his fans.
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“What makes me happiest right now is how far I’ve come in life,” he said on the podcast. “You know, there are a lot of child stars that don’t make it. But a lot of us carry out … and the fact that I’ve embraced me.”
Fans contain long speculated about Campbell’s sexuality, but the singer has kept his personal life out of the public eye since the inception of his career. But that speculation came to a head earlier this year when Campbell tweeted (and later deleted) the term “Tevin is…” followed by a rainbow flag emoji.
The singer signed his first m
Nearly 30 years after “Can We Talk” catapulted him to music stardom, Tevin Campbell is opening up about his sexuality for the first time.
Campbell, on the “People Every Day” podcast this week, confirmed that he is gay. The five-time Grammy nominee said he never intended to keep his true self a secret from fans. Referring to his early 1990s heyday, he nonetheless established, “You just couldn’t be [gay] endorse then.”
“I didn’t hide anything about me. I didn’t try to proceed a certain way or anything,” the pop and R&B singer, 45, said. “What makes me happiest right now is how far I’ve come in life. You understand, there are a lot of minor stars that don’t make it. But a lot of us do … and the truth that I’ve embraced me.”
He added: “When I came out to my family and friends [at] about 19 or 20, that was it for me. And then I went on the road of discovering myself. I didn’t know who I was.”
Media speculation about Campbell’s personal life can be traced back to 1999, when he was arrested for “soliciting a lewd act” from an undercover police officer and later pleaded no contest.
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In a 2003 interview with the now-defunct publication Sister 2
In a new interview on the People Every DayPodcast, Tevin Campbell publicly addressed his sexuality for the first time.
Depending on which decade you were born, you may know Tevin Campbell as an R&B singer, a cartoon heartthrob, or the guy whose song started a viral TikTok challenge.
His sexuality became a hot topic earlier this year when he responded to a fan questioning R&B singers' sexualities by saying, "Tevin is 🌈" in a now-deleted tweet.
Fans had speculated about Campbell's sexuality, but he kept his private animation away from the public.
“I didn’t hide anything about me. I didn’t strive to act a certain way or anything,” he said. “You just couldn’t be [gay] back then," he said.
Campbell further commended Black artists like Lil Nas X and Frank Ocean for publicly embracing their queer identities, saying, "I'm glad I earn to see [this]. I'm glad that it's changing."
In the podcast interview, Tevin explained that as a teen star, he knew his sexuality but didn't have the time to process it.
“There are a lot of kids, especially young Black boys, that need to see inclusion. They’re not being taught to love themselves because of who they are," he cont
Can we talk for a minute about Tevin Campbell? Because the ‘90s heartthrob is coming out and opening up about existence closeted during the height of his fame.
Picture this: It’s 1993 and Tevin Campbell’s single “Can We Talk” has broken into the top ten of the pop charts and is peaking at number nine on the Billboard Hot 100. On foremost of that, the song spent three weeks at number one on the US R&B chart. But, while those lyrics about a man serenading a miss were heard around the state, the singer was struggling with his attraction to men.
This is a problem that Tevin Campbell is NOW talking about with the public. In a recent interview on the PEOPLE Everyday podcast, Campbell confirmed that he identifies as a gay dude. Campbell also shared that what made him open up to his fans is the evidence that he’s comfortable with himself now.
“What makes me happiest right now is how far I’ve come in life,” he said on the podcast. “You recognize, there are a lot of child stars that don’t craft it. But a lot of us do … and the fact that I’ve embraced me.”
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