Diana King, the Jamaican "reggae-fusion" singer-songwriter, revealed that she is a lesbian in a lengthy Facebook posting late last month.
King claimed on her blog: "I AM A LESBIAN ... the answer to my most asked INDIRECT question. I welcome the "WHO CARES" right now LOL."
Famous for her hit "Shy Guy" and her well-received cover of Dionne Warwick's "I Say A Little Prayer," which was featured on the soundtrack to the 1997 Julia Roberts film "My Best Friend's Wedding," King quoted as saying:
"I answer now, not because it's anyone's business BUT because IT FEELS RIGHT WITH my SOUL and I believe by not answering or hiding it all these years somehow makes it appear as if I AM ASHAMED OF IT or THAT I BELIEVE IT IS WRONG. I FEEL NEITHER OF THOSE THINGS … or I would have grown my hair."
Adding that she just wants to "keep it real," King adds:
"HONESTLY SPEAKING, I have always been AFRAID to admit it openly, because of the UNKNOWN of what it may cause negatively, to me my career my family and loved ones. But I realized that it is not my job to make others COMFORTABLE, I AM ONLY RESPONSIBLE FOR MY LIFE, the stuff U think about on your deathbed and at this point in my life I DO NOT CARE about the things that FRIGHTEN me anymore. My biggest regret is that I didn't COME OUT earlier because being silent has held me back from being ALL that I was born to be. The DEEP FEAR that I've had, especially that my own JAMAICAN PEOPLE will judge me and not accept me because of their homophobia has been a heavy burden. I fly my country's flag HIGH."
It has to be mentioned that King's revelation came just before Cooper's and R&B singer Frank Ocean, who said he felt like a "free man" after coming out in a blog on July 4, but had gone relatively unreported until this week.
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King claimed on her blog: "I AM A LESBIAN ... the answer to my most asked INDIRECT question. I welcome the "WHO CARES" right now LOL."
Famous for her hit "Shy Guy" and her well-received cover of Dionne Warwick's "I Say A Little Prayer," which was featured on the soundtrack to the 1997 Julia Roberts film "My Best Friend's Wedding," King quoted as saying:
"I answer now, not because it's anyone's business BUT because IT FEELS RIGHT WITH my SOUL and I believe by not answering or hiding it all these years somehow makes it appear as if I AM ASHAMED OF IT or THAT I BELIEVE IT IS WRONG. I FEEL NEITHER OF THOSE THINGS … or I would have grown my hair."
Adding that she just wants to "keep it real," King adds:
"HONESTLY SPEAKING, I have always been AFRAID to admit it openly, because of the UNKNOWN of what it may cause negatively, to me my career my family and loved ones. But I realized that it is not my job to make others COMFORTABLE, I AM ONLY RESPONSIBLE FOR MY LIFE, the stuff U think about on your deathbed and at this point in my life I DO NOT CARE about the things that FRIGHTEN me anymore. My biggest regret is that I didn't COME OUT earlier because being silent has held me back from being ALL that I was born to be. The DEEP FEAR that I've had, especially that my own JAMAICAN PEOPLE will judge me and not accept me because of their homophobia has been a heavy burden. I fly my country's flag HIGH."
It has to be mentioned that King's revelation came just before Cooper's and R&B singer Frank Ocean, who said he felt like a "free man" after coming out in a blog on July 4, but had gone relatively unreported until this week.
Diana King's revelation of being gay is very brave given the fact that Jamaica is one of the most violently homophobic nations in the world..... It is a huge deal towards social normalization. It appears that Anderson Cooper opened the flood gates and I suspect that very soon it will no longer matter who comes out...What do you think?