17/08/2020
Singer Frank Ocean — known for his hit albums "Blonde" and "Channel Orange" — came out in a Tumblr post in 2012. In the post, Ocean shared his experience of falling in love with a man four years prior, writing:
"In the last year or 3 I've screamed at my creator, screamed at the clouds in the sky, for some explanation. Mercy maybe. For peace of mind to rain like manna somehow. 4 summer ago, I met somebody. I was 19 years old. He was too. We spent that summer, and the summer after, together. Everyday almost… Sleep I would often share with him. By the time I realized I was in love, it was malignant. It was hopeless. There was no escaping."
The letter was met with widespread praise at the time of its publication and continues to resonate with q***r people across the world. The artist has since elaborated on his q***rness in his music.
In a 2012 interview with GQ, Ocean discussed the night he posted the letter and his aversion to labels. Despite popular belief, Ocean does not identify as bisexual and instead aligns himself more with romantic and sexual fluidity.
"The night I posted it, I cried like a f------ baby," he said. "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."
