David Archuleta Got Real About His Sexuality In A Lengthy Coming Out Message
"I am not sure about my own sexuality."
David Archuleta is feeling proud. On Saturday, June 12, the American Idol star announced he was part of the LGBTQ+ community on Instagram, and got real about not having found the right label for himself. As his coming out message showed, getting real about your sexuality is a complicated, nuanced thing.
The musician shared the news with fans in an Insta post, in which he penned a thoughtful, lengthy caption about his experiences growing up LGBTQ+ and Mormon. “I like to keep to myself but also thought this was important to share because I know so many other people from religious upbringings feel the same way,” he began. “I’ve been open to myself and my close family for some years now that I am not sure about my own sexuality.”
Archuleta explained that while he came out to his family as gay in 2014, he has similar feelings for multiple genders that may actually land him on “a spectrum of bisexual.” He added that he also learned he may identify as asexual, “which works, I guess, because I have a commitment to save myself until marriage.”
Archuleta also used his coming out message to call on Christians to more understanding and compassionate towards LGBTQ+ people. The singer himself is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and after making headlines as the runner-up of American Idol Season 7, his music even appeared in the 2014 documentary Meet the Mormons.
“I think we can do better as people of faith and Christians, including Latter-day Saints, to listen more to the wrestle between being LGBTQIA+ and a person of faith. There are more than you may realize going through that wrestle after all the misunderstandings that come with it,” Archuleta continued. “I don’t think it should come down to a feeling you have to accept one or the other. For me to find peace, the reality has been to accept both are real things I experience and make me who I am.”
As he concluded, “You can be part of the LGBTQIA+ community and still believe in God and His gospel plan.” Well said!
