Demi Lovato Shares Her Coming Out Story
The pop superstar states that after releasing her single “Cool for the Summer” her family wasn’t surprised when she came out.
Demi Lovato recently appeared on SiriusXM’s The Howard Stern Show to talk about a variety of topics as she promotes her new album Revamped. As is always the case when it comes to Stern, things got personally, quickly, and thankfully, Lovato didn’t seem shy about diving into her private life, especially when the topic of her sexuality came up.
The Grammy-nominated superstar opened up and shared what happened when she first came out to her parents as bisexual, which happened about a decade ago now.
Lovato stated that because she was raised in a Christian household, she was initially nervous about openly discussing her sexuality. However, she emphasized that when she finally did tell them her truth, her parents were incredibly supportive.
The singer noted that her mom, Dianna De La Garza, was especially loving in what can be a very tough time for some people. Her mother’s response was simply, “I just want you to be happy,” reflecting her unconditional love and acceptance.
In a lighthearted moment, Lovato also shared her stepfather Eddie De La Garza’s amusing response when she came out. According to Lovato, he quipped, “Yeah, you have a song called ‘Cool for the Summer,’ like it’s obvious.”
Her stepfather was referring to her 2015 chart hit “Cool for the Summer,” which dealt with themes of a secret, same-sex relationship, one which at least one of the two people involved wants to hide. Lovato revealed that when she released “Cool for the Summer” eight years ago, she wasn’t afraid of how it might affect her career, even though it was regarded as somewhat risqué at the time.
Instead, “Cool for the Summer” served as a form of self-expression for Lovato, as well as a way for her to come to terms with her own sexuality at a time when she was apparently struggling with doing so. In the interview, she explained that she didn’t publicly come out as bisexual until she was 24 or 25, though by then she was already writing songs about her sexuality, if even in guarded ways.
Throughout her years as a musical star, Lovato has changed how she identifies, both in terms of her sexuality and her gender identity. She has told the world at different times that she is bisexual and then later pansexual. She also once asked people to refer to her using they/them pronouns, but more recently she stated that female pronouns are also appropriate.
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