Melissa Etheridge recalls coming out as gay at Clinton's inauguration ball

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Melissa Etheridge’s superhit 1993 album ‘Yes I Am’ is special for many reasons, especially because the singer's coming out helped it break all records.

The multiplatinum was released in September that year, and the singer had also decided to come out during the same time. But she postponed it and made the historic announcement in January at the 1993 Triangle Ball to celebrate Bill Clinton's inauguration.

Melissa Etheridge says hearing words 'gay' and 'lesbian' on television for the first time was 'exciting'

“I'm very proud to have been a lesbian all my life,” she declared at the time during a gay-themed celebration.

Now, in a rare confession, Etheridge has shed light on the historic moment during a new discussion for the Elton John Impact Awards.

“It was the first time that gay organizations had come together, formed political PACs, and raised money. And it was the first time a presidential candidate had actually talked about being gay, not about him, but had said the words 'gay' and 'lesbian,” the 65-year-old musician shared with iHeartRadio host Elvis Duran.

“I had never heard the words 'gay' and 'lesbian' on television, you know? It was the first time, and it was very exciting,” she added.

Melissa Etheridge reveals why she came out during Clinton's inauguration ball

Etheridge further noted the exciting environment and being with mentors like k.d. lang, who had come out in 1992, made her reveal herself early.

She said, “We were all celebrating. And I was so excited and pumped up, and k.d. had just spoken and she introduced me, and I got up, and I said, 'Hey, I'm proud to be a lesbian.' And I went, wow.”

“And it was at the National Press Club… [the] next day it was all Clinton inauguration, blah, blah, blah. And way down at the bottom, it said, 'and Melissa Etheridge came out as a lesbian,’” the guitarist told Duran.

Melissa Etheridge claims coming out actually helped her career

Further into the interview, Etheridge mentioned how her coming out positively impacted her ‘Yes I Am’ album despite earlier fears that it would end her career.

She claimed, “I went from selling about a million copies of a record to selling seven million of ‘Yes I Am’ in one year. I tell people, 'No, it didn't hurt me,' but I believe that the extra press I got from being gay, all of a sudden, I was more of a headline story… It made me more interesting.”

Etheridge has also shared that her coming out story inspired many, and it’s “one of the reasons that has made coming out so satisfying.”

She also hopes that the legacy continues and “people years from now can say that I was a lesbian in rock and roll that made it okay to like gay music.”