R&B talent Tank has spoken out against homophobia in his latest interview.
Throughout his career, the Now or Never artist has used his platform to be an ally to the LGBTQIA+ community – performing at Pride events and speaking out against conservative talking points directed toward queer people.
On 4 December, Tank continued to showcase his allyship when he appeared on the Holdin Court Podcast to discuss homophobia in the Black community, specifically as it relates to Black men.
“There’s something about Black men and the homosexual conversation that is a mess. The phobia as it relates to Black men is the elephant in the room, and no one will actually articulate their devastation,” he explained to hosts Big Court and Rachel Reneé.
“You have to think, for a Black man, the worst thing to be called is gay. The first thing somebody is going to allude to, whether you are gay or not, when they are trying to assassinate your character… they’re going gay first.
“It stems from something within our culture that has created this stigma that that is–– somehow there is a program to make Black men gay. You see it everywhere. ‘There is an attack on strong Black men.’ But who’s the attack coming from?”
Elsewhere in the interview, Tank shut down the “gay agenda” conversation after Big Court brought up the evolution of LGBTQIA+ visibility within media and pop culture.
“Back in our generation, we’re the exact same age. We didn’t see homosexuality. It’s been around since the beginning of time, but it was your auntie’s friend, your uncle’s friend. But now it’s more in your face, it’s more acceptable, it’s more mainstream,” Big Court said.
In response, Tank argued that the world has gotten smaller since they were kids and that access to other people and their respective lives has become easier.
The 48-year-old R&B talent gave further insight into his viewpoint when Rachel brought up the double standard of music icons Prince and Rick James being praised as masculine during the height
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