Singer Chely Wright has said Faith
Hill, Trisha Yearwood and Naomi Judd privately supported her coming
out gay.
Wright became the first commercial
country music artist to come out gay in 2010.
In an interview with The
Huffington Post, Wright recalled that only three country
music stars – Mary Chapin Carpenter, LeAnn Rimes and SHeDAISY –
publicly supported her decision.
“Privately – Faith Hill, Trisha
Yearwood and Naomi Judd” supported me, Wright said. “Now, there
are a lot of people who make country records, and I know all of
them.”
“I think some of the artists really
have a fundamental belief that there's something wrong with me. But
I think most of the artists don't want their fans to know that
they're supportive of me because they don't want to lose a record
sale. Because, look, there's a reason I'm the first artist to come
out in commercial country music. I don't want to be a hypocrite
here, but I am a bit of a hypocrite. I hid for 17 years. I'm a
hider just a s well as anyone else is, whether they're a straight
person who's hidden their support of the LGBT community or a gay
person who's hiding in country music.”
“You know, I receive a lot of letters
from people who say, 'I won't support that sick behavior,'” she
added. “It's not pretty.”
(Related: Chely
Wright says love bloomed after she came out gay.)