Outing at 45: Tevin Campbell is homosexual
The 45-year-old R&B singer Tevin Campbell has come out as homosexual in the podcast "People Every Day". The artist became famous at the age of 13 when he was discovered by none other than Quincy Jones.
As a teenager, Campbell conquered the U.S. charts with hits like "Can We Talk," "I'm Ready" and "Tell Me What You Want Me To Do." But at some point it became quieter around him. He also took much longer than others to come out. He himself had not had the desire to come out until the day in question. But now (obviously) he did.
Family and friends were in on it - but the public only found out now
The R&B singer grew up in a small town in Texas. At the age of about 20, he decided to come out as gay to his family and friends. After that he took off in the music business, went on tour and didn't talk much about his sexuality in public. Today he says that he himself was a little confused by it all.
However, what he concealed seemed to be quite interesting for others. Already since 1999 the public discussed about the sexuality of the singer. Again and again it was suspected that he could be gay.
And also the police was called at some point on the plan. Because: Tevin Campbell allegedly offered money to an undercover investigator for a blowjob. Exactly that only fueled the rumors about Campbell. However, there was never a public statement.
Behind closed doors, the artist got to know other people from the scene.
Many fates impressed him. After all, they were perfect proof that it was quite possible to live in a same-sex relationship and lead a "normal life.
Why didn't Campbell come out sooner?
Campbell never seemed to consider it a real "bad thing" that there were rumors involving him being called "homosexual" or "possibly homosexual."
He did not see the need to come out publicly because his closest circle was already in on it and supported him.
That's why he was able to deal with the rumors so easily. Or to put it another way: He didn't give a damn about them, as he says himself.
However, it is also clear that even in the 90s, a public outing would have meant a career end, as the world was apparently not yet ready for homosexual public figures. This was a time when jokes were still being made about homosexual people in series like "Friends" or "A terribly nice family".
Possibly it was also a "mix of everything" that led to the singer only now deciding to let "the whole world" in on it. In any case, the reactions to the outing via the podcast are so positive that Campbell certainly does not regret having taken this step.
When do most people come out of the closet?
Nowadays, there are many surveys that deal with outings and queer life. Again and again it shows that more and more people are coming out earlier and earlier. The average age for coming out is around 17. However, this does not mean that everyone else is a "late bloomer".
The most important thing is not statistics, but simply the fact that everyone feels comfortable with what they are doing - regardless of whether they are 17 or "only" 45.