'That's a very personal thing': Melissa Etheridge opens up on supporting musicians in LGBTQ+ community

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Melissa Etheridge got candid with Chris Wallace about voicing her support to other musicians in the LGBTQ+ community after she came out. "Sometimes it was just nice for someone to talk to them about it," said the 62-year-old about her other peers revealing her about their sexuality before they came out publicly. 

On the latest episode of the CNN talk show 'Who’s Talking to Chris Wallace?', Etheridge shared how she spoke to other musicians of the LGBTQ+ who were struggling in sharing their identity. 

What did Melissa Etheridge say?

“Some of them, were basically just apologizing to me saying, ‘OK, you know I'm gay, but I can't come out", the actress said. “And I'm like, I don't have a judgment on your coming [out]. That's a very personal thing, especially professionally, and I never did,” shared the Grammy winner. 

Melissa Etheridge says 'it was just nice for someone to talk to them about it'

“But sometimes it was just nice for someone to talk to them about it. And it just feels so much better to be who you are,” continued Etheridge, as per People. “And then the ones that did come out, you know, it was like, look, this is about your own personal health.”

The award-winning singer detailed how she shared her concern for her fellow musicians' mental state. “You can't put album sales or movie sales in front of your own personal health. And ultimately, that's what it comes down to is how you can live,” she added.

When did Melissa Etheridge come out as a lesbian?

The musician further revealed to Wallace that after she released her track 'I'm the Only One', which also became her biggest hit and peaked at No 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1995, she came out as a lesbian to audiences in 1993.

The 'Yes I Am' track caused bated breath amongst her management and people around her. “I think everyone kind of held their breath a little bit. They believed in the album — but it was a rough ride there for a while,” confessed the singer.

The singer-songwriter made headlines when she came out at the Triangle Ball, which was part of President Bill Clinton's inaugural celebration on January 20, 1993. Etheridge is married to wife Linda Wallem, whom she wed in May 2014.

Etheridge recalled on SPIN and FIRE's video series Free Speech + Other Dirty Words in March last year that during a meeting before the 'Yes I Am' release, she was asked “What are we going to do about the gay thing?”

“And I was like, 'What do you mean?' I'm not going to pretend I'm something else," she said. She also assured the label that she wasn't going to "go off and find a guy to take pictures with and pretend like he's my boyfriend." "I'm going to be me," Etheridge said.

The singer then said that she was told it was fine so long as she didn't "flag-wave." "That was of course before we had a rainbow flag... but four years later I was flag-waving," she said.