Tevin Campbell has officially come out as a gay man.
In a recent interview, the “Can We Talk” singer identified as a gay man and explain why it took him a while to open up to his fans. “What makes me happiest right now is how far I’ve come in life,” he said.
“You know, there are a lot of child stars that don’t make it. But a lot of us do… and the fact that I’ve embraced me.”
For years, fans have speculated about the singer’s sexuality but have never disclosed it. Earlier this year, Campbell put out in a now-deleted tweet, “Tevin is…” with a rainbow emoji. He would go on to talk about his what his life was like as a child star.
“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,” he said. In 2005, Campbell played the role of Seaweed J. Stubbs and says that’s where he truly found 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,” Campbell said.
Tevin went on to give praises to artists such as Lil Nas X and Frank Ocean, who have been successful in the music industry for being openly gay.
“It wasn’t like that in the 90s, but I’m glad I get to see it. I’m glad that’s changing, “ he said. “There are a lot of kids, especially young Black boys that need to see representation. They’re not being taught to love themselves because of who they are.”
Tevin Campbell is best known for his songs ‘Can We Talk”, and “Tell Me What You Want Me To Do.”