Tevin Campbell Shares His Journey On How He Became Comfortable With Identifying As a Gay Man 

The 90s was a different time for celebrities. They had to keep so many aspects of their personal life a secret. Tevin Campbell who started out in the entertainment business at really young age recently opened up about his journey becoming comfortable with his sexuality. The singer sat down with the PEOPLE Ever Day podcast, the R&B singer talked about the image he was forced to lean into as a teenager in the music industry and how what was portrayed was far from his reality.

“I don’t think the sex symbol thing worked, but the love songs last. I had no idea at the time, like when I was 15 or 16 recording ‘Can We Talk’ that it would have that impact. I was just a kid singing in the studio.”

Campbell says he wasn’t concerned with his sexuality, “I just kind of wanted to be me, you know?” 

“I didn’t hide anything about me. I didn’t try to act a certain way or anything. You just couldn’t be [gay] back then.”

“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,” he shared. 

Performing in the Broadway musical Hairspray beginning in 2004 helped him find himself. “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.”

Tevin Campbell finally opened up to the world via twitter when responded to a Twitter user’s question about famous singers who are rumored to be gay by tweeting, “Tevin is…” with rainbow emoji earlier this year.

“It was a casual thing for me. I love my fans, but what they think about my sexuality is of no importance to me.”

Listen to the full podcast here.