The Compton native and “Bad Habit” singer, Steve Lacy opened up about being bisexual and why he doesn’t like the idea of people “coming out.”
As one of Variety‘s Power of Young Hollywood 2023 honorees, the told the publication that he found the idea of coming out about his sexuality “dumb.”
The 25-year-old explained he later realized the act of revealing your sexual interest is an “industry thing,” and he has spoken candidly about not wanting fame.
1.
During the height of Tumblr threads, Lacy released his first demo project in 2017 titled, Steve Lacy’s Demo. Lacy engaged in thread conversations with fans on Tumblr after the release of his demo. When a commenter asked if he would date a guy, Lacy genuinely responded, “Sure, why not.”
Within hours, online headlines surfaced indicating he was bisexual, such as “Steve Lacy Comes Out as Bisexual.”
2.
“But I didn’t really come out,” Lacy told Variety. “I didn’t try to — it just kinda happened. I don’t care to announce who I’m into sexually. I think it’s silly. I never felt like I needed to come out.”
3.
The headlines catapulted Lacy’s experience with online opinions after admitting in the Tumblr thread that he wasn’t interested in other Black men. The “Gemini Rights” artist was thrown under the bus after being labeled “anti-Black,” and in an act to defend himself from online heat, Lacy wrote at the time, “I’m just not attracted to Black boys. … I still love them and want them to do well in life, we just won’t date.”
4.
Lacy’s former The Internet band member and now solo artist Syd told Variety she wasn’t aware of his sexuality until she saw the news.
“I found out there was all that controversy, and that’s when I talked to him about it,” she said. “I think being a gay man is very different from being a gay woman.”
5.
“I didn’t even want to assume that I knew what he was going through. I just wanted to let him know as a sister that you can play this as low-key or as high-key as you want to. It doesn’t matter, and whenever you’re ready to open up about it, we’re here,” she continued.
6.
Lacy has since become more open about his sexuality — especially through his lyrics where he openly creates music reflecting his queer dating life including singing about his ex-boyfriend’s “deep throat” and “heavy d**k.”
Although he identifies as a member of the LGBTQ+ community, he revealed he is not concerned with representing a specific community because no one’s experience is the same.
7.
“I never care to speak for anyone else, because I think all of our experiences are so different from each other,” he says. “I guess I have a selfish perspective of myself in the world, and I’m just expressing myself. I’m not necessarily doing things for other people to feel good about themselves.”
