David Archuleta placed second in this week’s ‘Masked Singer’ Season 9 finale, where he was revealed to be the person behind the rainbow-winged Macaw mask. Aside from taking second place, he also expressed an emotional message to the judges.
“I grew up very religious. It was a huge part of my life. And I believed that if lived being queer, that I was going to be evil, so I worked really hard to be anything but that. I began to think, ‘Maybe it’s better if I’m not here.’ … If anyone else is feeling like they are bad just because of who they are attracted to and who they love, I want you to know that it is worth taking the courage to show your true colors,” the 32-year-old pop singer stated.
Archuleta, who was raised in the Mormon church, came out as LGBTQ+ in June 2021. In a recent interview with Yahoo Entertainment, he further opened up about trying to change his true self to fit into the teachings of the church, which he grew up learning and basing his faith on.
He also tried to talk to church leaders about the struggles of LGBTQ+ individuals who are in despair and feel like they do not belong anywhere, but those conversations only left him frustrated.
“I would have an hour conversation with one of them, and after all that time, I would see how they still were in denial of everything I had just said. … They would just respond with stuff like, ‘Oh, we just need to find you a good girl!’ And I’m like, ‘Um, that’s not going to fix it, because I’ve already tried that three times!’ I almost got married [to women] three times, and I realized that was going to be dishonest,” the “Faith In Me” singer told the outlet.
He continued,
“So many people, they expect you that once you leave the congregation or that you ‘become gay’ or LGBTQ+ in any form, that you are going to ‘lose light…’”
And finally, the last straw that led to Archuleta’s decision to step back from the church was when the leaders created a “false narrative” that he too would “lose his light,” and be forever miserable and single because he came out as queer.
To that, the singer expressed:
“And I was like, ‘I’m done.’”
“I’ve done enough for this church with the intentions that I thought I was serving God. But I feel like I’m being taken advantage of at this point, and I don’t want to lead other people astray who are suffering the same way that I was,” he further stated.
Moreover, Archuleta said that he “would like to be married” because he has been taught that “there’s no greater happiness than marriage.” He is certainly not miserable, and he identifies as graysexual or demisexual because “it takes a while for me to feel any physical attachment or any physical affection or desire.”
And although the singer still feels “some attraction to women,” he has “only explored dating guys at this time” ever since he came out two years ago.
“Because this is what I’ve not allowed myself to do. … I prefer to be with guys; that seems like the more natural thing for me,” Archuleta explained.
Source: yahoo.com
As a former Mormon, I know how much courage it takes to live authentically and step back from the cult. Much respect.
It’s not ours to judge another person’s sexual preference. Judge not least ye be judged.
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Ugh, so over this loser and his religious BS. He needs to get over himself, he’s not even a good singer.