T.J. Osborne Comes Out As Gay, Makes Country Music History

Country music star and lead vocalist of the musical duo the Brothers Osborne, T.J. Osborne, is publicly speaking his truth and coming out as gay. 

In a recent interview with TIME Magazine, the 36-year-old opened up about his sexuality

"I’m very comfortable being gay," T.J. told TIME. "I find myself being guarded for not wanting to talk about something that I personally don’t have a problem with. That feels so strange."

While T.J. isn't the only out, queer country star on the scene, his coming out is a major victory for representation in the genre that has a very conservative and often times narrow-minded reputation. As Vulture points out, T.J. coming out makes him the highest-profile (and the only) gay artist currently signed to a major country label (EMI Nashville). 

T.J. opening up about his sexuality was met with a ton of support online, including from Grammy winner and passionate LGBTQ+ ally Kacey Musgraves.

Speaking about what his coming out means for the future of his career in country music, T.J. continued: 

"There are times when I think I’ve marginalized this part of me so that I feel better about it and I realize that it is a big part of who I am: The way I think, the way I act, the way I perform. God, think of all the times that we talk about love, and write about love. It’s the biggest thing we ever get to feel. And I’ve kept the veil on."

"You know that thing—stand for something or you’ll fall for anything?" he said. "That sounds like something someone in country music would say. But if you stand for something and it’s not what they stand for, then they hate it. I’ve done more than I ever thought I would. At this point, my happiness is more valuable than anything else I’d ever be able to achieve."

Congrats on living your truth, T.J., and welcome to the family!