Ty Herndon, a country music star who had three No 1 hits on the American country charts, has revealed he is gay. Now 52, Herndon said that he has struggled with his sexuality since childhood, only gradually coming to grips with his identity as a gay Christian man.
16 years after his last country No 1, Herndon has now become the genre’s most prominent out, male star, joining forerunners like Sid Spencer and Patrick Haggerty, as well as boundary-crossing lesbian singers like KD Lang and Chely Wright. “[Gay people are] not broken, they’re not sinners and they’re perfectly beautiful,” Herndon told People magazine. “[They] can be loved by God, they can be married one day, they can have a family, they can give their parents grandkids.”
Not long after after People magazine broke the news, Billy Gilman, a fellow country music star, posted a video announcing he was gay. Inspired and encouraged by Herndon, the video - titled My Story By Billy Gilman - discusses his struggles within the industry as a “gay male country artist”. “It’s pretty silly to know that I’m ashamed of doing this, knowing that because I’m in an genre and industry that is ashamed of me for being me,” he says.
“After having sold over 5m records, having a wonderful life in the music industry I knew something was wrong when no major label wanted to sit down and have a meeting and listen to the new stuff.”
Herndon said he realised he was gay when he was about 10, sitting in church and feeling “horrified that I might be a homosexual”. Although he came out to some close family members at age 20, he was married (and divorced) twice. “[My family] has seen me struggle with being gay my whole career,” he said. Herndon began seeing his current partner, a man named Matt, in 2008.
Matt and Wright both inspired Herndon’s decision to come out as gay, but it was also informed by a 2009 seminar with life coach Anthony Robbins. “I realised I had an incredible story that could possibly help someone’s son or daughter or grandchild’s life not be as difficult as mine has been,” he said. “Maybe they wouldn’t have to go through as much pain and suffering.”
Herndon released four studio albums between 1995 and 1999, all of which reached the US country chart’s top 25. But after successful singles such as What Mattered Most and A Man Holdin’ On (To a Woman Lettin’ Go), the singer’s career was devastated by lawsuits, addiction and bankruptcy. He has returned to music in recent years, releasing several LPs; these include a Christmas album and a 2010 collection of contemporary Christian music.
