Country music singer Chely Wright has
congratulated hip-hop artist Frank Ocean on coming out.
Ocean, whose real name is Christopher
Francis Ocean, came out at least bisexual in a blog post on his
website. He is being credited as the first mainstream hip-hop star
to come out.
The 24-year-old Ocean, a member of the
collective Odd Future, said in the post that his “first love” was
another man.
“By the time I realized I was in
love, it was malignant. It was hopeless. There was no escaping, no
negotiating to the women I had been with, the ones I cared for and
thought I was in love with.”
Ocean added that his love was not
reciprocated.
Speaking to TMZ.com,
Wright, who two years ago became the first mainstream country music
star to come out of the closet, said she was moved to tears reading
Ocean's statement.
“I can't think of a better way for
Frank to celebrate Independence Day,” she said. “It's
spectacular.”
TMZ also paraphrased Wright as saying
that coming out can be “career-damaging.”
Wright criticized TMZ in a Facebook
post: “I spoke with @TMZ today re: @Frank_Ocean and they didn't
quote 90% of what I said – That his coming out is important,
amazing and wonderful!”