Kehlani has spoken for the first time about the struggle she has faced since she first revealed her pregnancy to the public, according to reports by E! Online.
Since she made the surprise announcement of her forthcoming baby girl back in October, Kehlani has faced much more backlash than is expected from a celebrity pregnancy. Speaking to Nylon magazine, Kehlani said, “I’ve gotten everything from ‘I thought she was a lesbian’ to ‘she was using queerness to promote her career, then went and betrayed us with a man’ to ‘her baby father is just a sperm donor’”
Kehlani explained how upset she was due to the titles that she was forced to live up to, claiming that she “never identified as a lesbian,” despite saying that some gave her the title of “the ‘queer icon’ of the century.” Kehlani actually identifies as pansexual or simply queer.
Kehlani delves deeper into the explanation of her orientation, saying, “I have always said, and will always say, there are people out there in this community fighting for equality in realer ways than making songs about it and performing at events like I am, and those are the ‘queeroes.’ Those are the ones who deserve to be awarded and constantly highlighted.”
The 23-year-old singer-songwriter also reveals the daily criticism she receives due to her identification as “queer,” saying, “I also saw a lot of discomfort with the use of the word queer,” and implying that its usage avoids more “solidified” terms such as “bi/lesbian/gay/pan.”
Kehlani made an effort to give a proper explanation of her sexuality back in April, when she told her fans through Twitter that her identification of “queer” meant “Not bi, not straight.”
She went on to explain, “I’m attracted to women, men, REALLY attracted to queer men, non binary people, intersex people, trans people. lil poly pansexual papa hello good morning. Does that answer your questions?”
Despite her thorough explanation, many of those who saw her tweets were not supportive of the language she used and instead brought even more backlash on the singer, prompting Kehlani to delete her tweets.
While Kehlani has some regrets over the “discomfort” she caused, Kehlani urged people to use whatever identification that they feel most closely represents them, no matter how others feel. She said, “Whatever makes you feel your safest, in your truest identity, you should identify as such without being policed by the same community you are supposed to feel most safe with.”