Um, can we talk about George Perris, the insanely talented singer who just came out?
Greek-French singer George Perris is speaking his truth — the accomplished performer (those pipes!) has publicly come out as gay.Just ahead of the release of his ninth album, No Amor, which drops on Wednesday, the 38-year-old is opening up about his experience coming to terms with his identity.“I grew up believing that there was something wrong about me because, at the time, when you were a kid in the ’80s or ’90s, you came to believe there was something wrong with you,” he told People. “Back then, people would always use words like ‘tolerant’ or ‘open-minded,’ and I always hated those terms because I think they hide a defiance; there’s contempt to it.
I don’t want you to tolerate me. I want you to accept me because we’re 100 percent equal.”Growing up in Athens, Perris said he hid his sexuality due to a dearth of queer representation.“I was raised in a society where you had no way of seeing the normality of a gay relationship,” he said. “It was not on TV.
It was not in the media. It was not a part of any discussion.”That dynamic started to chance for him in 1998, when pop star George Michael came out as gay.“My first experience with a public figure coming out was George Michael.
I was 15 years old at the time, and to me, that was like a revelation because I had never even thought that it was possible,” Perris said. “I didn’t know You could have a superstar who was an extremely talented and incredible artist and a beautiful man and everything and he was gay, and he was living a normal life.” A post shared by George Perris (@georgeperris)Even so, it would be a while until Perris would come out to friends and family. “There was a little bit of backlash” when he told his family in his early 20s, he said, “but everyone was.
