R&B talent Tank has spoken out against homophobia in his latest interview.
Throughout his career, the Now or Never artist has used his platform to be an ally to the LGBTQIA+ community – performing at Pride events and speaking out against conservative talking points directed toward queer people.
On 4 December, Tank continued to showcase his allyship when he appeared on the Holdin Court Podcast to discuss homophobia in the Black community, specifically as it relates to Black men.
“There’s something about Black men and the homosexual conversation that is a mess. The phobia as it relates to Black men is the elephant in the room, and no one will actually articulate their devastation,” he explained to hosts Big Court and Rachel Reneé.
“You have to think, for a Black man, the worst thing to be called is gay. The first thing somebody is going to allude to, whether you are gay or not, when they are trying to assassinate your character… they’re going gay first.
“It stems from something within our culture that has created this stigma that that is–– somehow there is a program to make Black men gay. You see it everywhere. ‘There is an attack on strong Black men.’ But who’s the attack coming from?”
Elsewhere in the interview, Tank shut down the “gay agenda” conversation after Big Court brought up the evolution of LGBTQIA+ visibility within media and pop culture.
“Back in our generation, we’re the exact same age. We didn’t see homosexuality. It’s been around since the beginning of time, but it was your auntie’s friend, your uncle’s friend. But now it’s more in your face, it’s more acceptable, it’s more mainstream,” Big Court said.
In response, Tank argued that the world has gotten smaller since they were kids and that access to other people and their respective lives has become easier.
View this post on Instagram
The 48-year-old R&B talent gave further insight into his viewpoint when Rachel brought up the double standard of music icons Prince and Rick James being praised as masculine during the height of their careers despite their androgynous fashion.
After Big Court said that it was a different context due to the late stars being entertainers, Tank rebutted: “But again, where does the agenda come from?
“Because we’re talking about Prince, we’re talking about Michael Jackson, we’re talking about Cameo… Rick James had beads and braids, extensions… we celebrated that. We owned it. It wasn’t an attack or an assassination on anything.”
Tank went on to say that he had never seen anything that made him say, “Oh wow, I want to be gay.”
“Because listen, ultimately, you are what you are,” he added.
View this post on Instagram
Lastly, the ‘Dirty’ singer opened up about his religious upbringing and how he stepped away from the conservative viewpoints he grew up with.
“I started living life outside of that book. I started accepting the fact that one way is not the only way,” he explained.
When asked if he felt like he was compromising his faith, Tank exclaimed that he “serves the god of all things, not one thing.”
“What I learned on my walk and on my journey is that all humans were created different… and the two things that every human being requires is grace and love,” he continued.
“Every human deserves that. And once I got into that headspace I started looking at people differently. I don’t care who you sleep with.”
You can check out Tank’s full interview here or below.
The post R&B singer Tank gets candid about homophobia in the Black community appeared first on GAY TIMES.
0 Comments