You best “Believe” that country star Jake Owen loves his LGBTQ friends and colleagues.
And when an anti-gay fan trolled his recent tribute for Pride Month, the 37-year-old singer clapped back in smooth, country style.
Owen shared in an Instagram post, “Some of my closest friends and coworkers, are part of the #lgbt community and I couldn’t be more happy for the progress they have made.”
“I’m inspired by people loving people no matter who you are,” added the Nashville-based singer. “I BELIEVE the world needs more love. No matter where it comes from.”
Owen went on to say he “googled ‘gayest’ songs of all time” to find the right tune with which to record a musical tribute for Pride Month.
“The boys and I decided to put our country spin on Cher’s ‘Believe,’” he told his one million Instagram followers. “Hope you dig.”
The singer, who’s had seven #1 hits on the country charts, closed the post with a clip of the song writing, “Stay tuned friends, and most importantly, love everyone. [rainbow emoji]”
But one fan wasn’t in the mood to ‘Believe.’
“Suddenly I feel sick that I have tickets to your show here on Thursday night,” wrote the fan.
The comment received nearly 300 responses including one from Owen.
“I’m sorry you feel sick that you have tickets to my show Thursday night,” said Owen in his reply. “Maybe it would do you good to come out, smile, laugh, sing a long with a bunch of strangers that are all going through what we call ‘life.’”
From there, Owen really hit his stride, telling her, “It’s really only you and few other ignorant people that make yourself look silly. If you make it out to my show, come give me a hug. You need one.”
He also assured the former fan that, if she decided not to attend the concert, “Trust me… we will all be okay. We like to share our shows with people that are kind, and loving.”
Suh-nap!!!
Others chimed in as well with supportive comments for Owen and his tribute.
One commenter wrote, “I’ll take your tickets!! Jake Owen is amazing!”
Another said, “Keep making your amazing music, Jake Owen! Your true fans can get enough of your country music! #lovealwayswins”
And this was popular: “Suddenly I feel sick that I might have been at that show with you. Love is Love. Accept all. Jesus did.”
Eventually, the Instagram user came back with, “I don’t hate him. I don’t hate homosexuals. I just don’t agree with their behavior and I don’t like it shoved in my face. I don’t shove my sins in their faces. I just want musicians to play music.”
Sashay-away with your troll-self, Miss Thing.
We’ve got to go download some more Jake Owen tunes.
Follow Jake on Instagram here, and you can visit the handsome country crooner’s official website here.
