Sometimes it takes seeing yourself represented to feel like you can be honest about your own sexuality. But the question remains: Which celebrity helped you realize you were queer?
At the GLAAD Media Awards back in March, Billboard News asked stars on the red carpet — including JoJo Siwa, Dylan Mulvaney, Billie Joe Armstrong and more — which musical artists provided them with their “queer awakening.”
For Siwa, the answer was immediate: “Lady Gaga and Miley Cyrus,” she said without hesitation. “And currently G Flip. I love them so very much.”
Mulvaney, meanwhile, said she’s felt affirmed in her gender identity by pop stars Britney Spears and Chappell Roan. “The way that I danced to Britney Spears’ music was very suggestive of my queerness,” she said. “Now, I feel like the person I’m so inspired by is Chappell Roan. It’s so queer, it’s so exciting, and it feels like she’s the next it girl.”
Green Day frontman Armstrong went for a deep cut, pointing to punk group Pansy Division as inspirations. “[They were] pioneers when it came to just straight, queer punk rock,” he says. “It was amazing.”
When asked for his take, Let’s Make a Deal host Wayne Brady couldn’t pick between two of his favorite artists. “Janelle Monáe, who was a trendsetter in my mind, because when she came out, it was like ‘Woman!’” he said. “And Prince — I dare anybody to say that you are more of a ‘man’ than Prince. Prince, in six-inch heels, would do a split, get back up, play the piano and the drums, steal your girlfriend, get on his private jet, make a record, go on tour and beat your a– in basketball.”
Check out the video above to see more answers from Michaela Jaé Rodriguez, Frankie Grande and more.
