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Here's Why People Are Saying Kehlani Came Out as a Lesbian

Kehlani

"You wanna know what’s new about me? I finally know I’m a lesbian!”

Singer and Advocate cover star Kehlani seems to have clarified her sexuality in a new video.

This weekend, Kehlani was hanging out in her kitchen with her friend, photographer Jamie-Lee B., on Instagram Live when she said, "You wanna know what's new about me? I finally know I'm a lesbian!" Her friend yells "bomb drop!" Next to her.

Kehlani has long been out, and has identified as queer and bisexual before. They previously stated that they were not a lesbian, despite being labelled that way by fans and press. In 2018 she posted a video talking about representing the LGBTQ+ community where she said, "never have I identified as a lesbian. You guys kinda saw me publicly date a woman - which I've done before, multiple times, you just haven't peeped - and ran with it."

In a 2020 interview with Diva Magazine, she said, "I'm definitely on the non-binary scale. But I still prefer and am totally fine with the pronoun 'she'." She added "My energy has always been extremely fluid between masculine and feminine so that's why I use 'queer', and also, queer is inclusive to non-binary people."

The singer also recently came out as using both she and they pronouns. She has yet to clarify whether she was joking in her new video or whether it was a heartfelt declaration.

Fans online immediately jumped at the opportunity to celebrate the clip.

"Not only is Kehlani a lesbian, they're a she/they lesbian. Y'all don't understand how seen I feel. Her music and lyrics I've always related to and i know I'm just gonna connect even more," one person tweeted.

Kehlani gave birth to her first child in 2018, with her guitarist Javaughn Young-White. In her Advocate cover story, they talked about how their queerness is seen by others. "I have a lot of privilege," they said, as a "cisgender-presenting, straight-presenting person."

"I didn't even really have to come out in my private life," she explained. "I don't walk down the street and people look at me and go, Oh, I bet she's queer. Or I bet that she's into women or anything like that because of the way I present. That's all privilege and I think that there are quite a few artists who were truly at the forefront but weren't able to make the strides that I was able to make being 100 percent myself because of the way they present and the biases and the phobias of the American public and the world.... I've been lucky, super lucky."

However she identifies, Kehlani is truly a role model for how we should all explore our own gender and sexuality.

RELATED: Kehlani Comes Out As Queer Over Twitter

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Mey Rude

Mey Rude is a journalist and cultural critic who has been covering queer news for a decade. The transgender, Latina lesbian lives in Los Angeles with her fiancée.

Mey Rude is a journalist and cultural critic who has been covering queer news for a decade. The transgender, Latina lesbian lives in Los Angeles with her fiancée.