Jason Mraz recently opened up about his journey to accepting his queer identity, which makes him feel “brand new,” as he no longer has to hide who he truly is.
“I will admit that I probably spent the first close to 20 years of my career just broadcasting as hetero,” the 46-year-old American singer-songwriter told Advocate.
He continued,
“You know, saying ‘girl’ in my songs, and a lot of that is growing up on a conservative street. And growing up around homophobia and feeling like I needed to protect some secret.”
Mraz noted that songwriting has helped him on his journey to finding himself.
“I was having these curiosities and experiences on the side that were starting to influence who I am and the kind of fun I wanted to have in the world and the kind of person I wanted to be in the world, which is more honest and more loving and more inclusive,” he further expressed.
The “I’m Yours” singer then explained how significant his new album, Mystical Magical Rhythmical Radical Ride, is to his personal life and queer identity, explaining:
“It’s why this album starts with ‘Getting Started’ and the album ends with ‘If You Think You’ve Seen It All.’ …It’s why I put myself on the album cover, which I haven’t done in 15 years. Because I feel brand-new. I feel like I’m not trying to hide anymore from who I maybe didn’t want to be, and now I’m excited to be somebody that I could be.”
Moreover, he previously described himself as “two-spirited,” revealing:
“I’ve had experiences with men, even while I was dating the woman who became my wife.”
“It was like, ‘Wow, does that mean I am gay?’ And my wife laid it out for me. She calls it ‘two spirit,’ which is what the Native Americans call someone who can love both man and woman. I really like that,” Mraz further shared during a 2018 interview with Billboard.
Sources: gaytimes.co.uk, advocate.com
I really don’t care who you F**k or get F**ked by, it’s the talent of the artist that matters.
If you say you’re “bisexual”, you’re trying to fool yourself and others. You’re gay. No straight man can even stand the thought of being intimate with another man. You’re just a gay person trying to minimize a stigma that you feel.