Frank Ocean is wearing several hats at this point: singer, songwriter, music genius and LGBT pioneer, among other things. But ever since the Channel Orange singer revealed in a Tumblr post in July that his first love was a life-changing experience with a man, we’ve all wanted to ask him, “why did you post the letter, and are you gay or bisexual?” After months of silence, Ocean is finally talking about the letter that changed his career and made his personal life one of our generation’s most wondrous mysteries.
In a new interview in GQ’s annual “Men of the Year” issue, Ocean explains that he decided to unveil his candid letter after a journalist “harmlessly” wrote about his obvious references to men on Channel Orange.
“I was just like, ‘F–k it. Talk about it, don’t talk about it — talk about this.’ No more mystery. Through with that,” said Frank, adding that he was an emotional wreck after he posted the letter.
“The night I posted it, I cried like a f–king baby,” he admitted. “It was like all the frequency just clicked to a change in my head. All the receptors were now receiving a different signal, and I was happy. I hadn’t been happy in so long. I’ve been sad again since, but it’s a totally different take on sad. There’s just some magic in truth and honesty and openness.”
Since then, Ocean has enjoyed the type of critical acclaim that most artists, both new and old, dream of. And yet, he forever seems on the brink of suffering the nightmarish scrutiny of the public eye, as fans hunger to figure out his sexuality and who he is dating.
But, when asked directly to define his sexuality, Ocean firmly declined.
“I’m not trying to sell you sex. People should pay attention to that in the letter: I didn’t need to label it for it to have impact,” Ocean said. “Because people realize everything that I say is so relatable, because when you’re talking about romantic love, both sides in all scenarios feel the same s—t.”
And so, for now, Ocean will remain undefined. And, to be fair, he has every right to stay that way. Check out some other black LGBT stars below. –nicholas robinson
