FLETCHER performs during the 2023 Boston Calling Music Festival at Harvard Athletic Complex on May 27, 2023 in Boston, Massachusetts.
Taylor Hill/Getty Images for Boston Calling
After months of radio silence, Fletcher is back with a new song and a new album announcement — and some revelations about her personal life that have fans conflicted.
On Wednesday, the "Becky's So Hot" singer posted a short video and a note describing the theme of her upcoming album.
"Would I still be loved if I shared who I am right now?" she wrote. "Both an open wound and an act of liberation, it marks the start of a new chapter in a longer story. One I am still learning how to tell."
It didn't take long for fans to start speculating on what, exactly, Fletcher meant by this. By Thursday, she had dropped a new song that confirmed their suspicions.
"And I know it's not what you wanted to hear / And it wasn't on your bingo card this year / Well it wasn't on mine / I fell in love / And it wasn't with who I thought it would be / And I'm scared to think of what you'll think of me / His lips were soft / I had no choice, I kissed a boy," she sings in the chorus of "Boy."
To clear up any misconceptions, Fletcher has always publicly identified as queer, not as a lesbian. There's no actual shift to her identity (although it would be fine if there was!), but up until a few lines on her previous album, In Search of the Antidote, her music had centered around her relationships with and interest in women.
As soon as "Boy" dropped, Fletcher's Instagram became a war zone between those who saw her romantic pursuit of a man as a betrayal and those frustrated by the biphobia being expressed in the comments.
"there's nothing brave about revealing your straight relationships i hope yall know that," one person wrote. "its giving corny is what this is."
"This comment section is not it," another argued. "queer women can still date men."
It's obvious from the lyrics and the post leading up to the drop that Fletcher herself saw the divide coming.
"There will be people that feel disappointed and feel confused and have questions," she told Rolling Stone. "Girl, I had questions and I was confused too. It shocked me just as much as anybody else."
The details of how this played out deepened the debate — dropping the song during Pride Month and deleting her previous social media posts both contributed to the heated conversations among fans.
— (@)
"Fletcher releasing this song during pride month is wild. You couldn't drop this LAST WEEK? I am not upset at the lyrical content, I actually like the song, and am fully aware she is bi. I'm upset that she built her career around wlw and this month was chosen for the announcement."
— (@)
"It's really sad to me that Fletcher knew she'd get hate from her own community for exploring her own identity."
— (@)
"yes it did because bi and pan people still exist and are still valid during pride month."
@jessicamasson/Instagram
"Kissing a boy fair Deleting everything to do with kissing girls not fair. But all love."
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"like i’m really not mad about fletcher finding love with a man or whatever like good for her But i do hate that it’s coming on the heels of jojo siwa Also renouncing lesbianism to be with a guy, just feels like an unfortunately regressive moment"
— (@)
"fletcher may not see your comments, but your bisexual friends will. please remember that before you start spewing hate about bisexuals during pride month. thank you."
— (@)
"some of you seem to forget fletcher is a real human being with real feelings and real experiences, she isn’t here to fill out your diversity quota or to fit into the box you have made for her with your narratives. have a bit more sympathy im begging."
Amidst all the debates, it seemed there may be more nuanced conversations to be had about the relatability and roles celebrities — especially queer musicians — play in our lives.
"She won't be relatable anymore to me personally, bc I can't relate to someone loving men and writing music about that experience. It's that simple," one fan wrote.
"There's also genuine feelings of loss- of someone who [lesbians] related to- who narrated their experiences in song- is less like them," another suggested. "It's not rational. But it's real."
Whether these are conversations we're currently capable of having in a big public forum like social media without taking a nosedive straight into biphobia is another matter — especially when they're centered around a single person and their personal identity.
But regardless of any existing fears or disappointments some fans may have, Fletcher herself assured Rolling Stone that she has always been and will always be a queer woman. Her new album, Would You Still Love Me If You Really Knew Me?, is "not an album about a guy," but rather an exploration of various secrets and aspects of her life and self she's kept out of the public eye.
"My deepest desire for people was for them to boldly and unapologetically be themselves," she said. "If that's what I've been preaching to my fans who I love so much this whole time, then I have to give myself that same grace. Otherwise, what the fuck is the point?"
And it seems clear that she's banking on her fans feeling the same way about her.
British canoeist Kurts Adams Rozentals says Paddle UK has sidelined him from the World Class Programme due to his work on OnlyFans, forcing him to choose between Olympic ambition and financial survival.
Rozentals, 22, won a place on UK Sport’s lottery‑funded scheme in 2022 and claimed a C1 silver at the World Under‑23 Championships in 2023, but was suspended in April “pending investigation” under Paddle UK’s Athlete Disciplinary Policy.
While the governing body did not publicly detail the allegations at the time, Rozentals posted on his Instagram that he believes they relate to the explicit videos he has been posting on his subscription-based OnlyFans channel since January.
Rozentals has now publicly addressed the controversy, telling BBC Sport, “I’ve been posting videos that are consciously made to be edgy in order to drive conversions to my ‘spicy content page’ to fund this ultimate dream of going to the Olympics.” He said the £16,000 ($21,552) annual grant he received from Paddle UK “is certainly not” enough to cover rent, travel, and living costs for a full‑time athlete based in London.
Rozentals estimates he has earned more than £100,000 ($134,704) in under six months on OnlyFans, where he posts uncensored footage and self‑promotional clips on Instagram to steer followers toward the platform. “I did whatever it took to never be in that position,” he told Sky News. “Was it unconventional? Sure. But to ban me from racing… that’s f**king insane.”
According to Sky News, Paddle UK said the interim action was taken “to safeguard other athletes, staff and volunteers due to the nature of the allegation” and is a neutral measure, not a disciplinary sanction. The policy cites “offensive use of social media” and “indecent, offensive or immoral behaviour” as potential grounds for action. The investigation has been passed to Sport Integrity, an independent service.
Rozentals insists he should not have to choose between making ends meet and pursuing his sporting career. “When you’re thinking about how to pay the rent at the start line, that’s not very conducive to performing well,” he told BBC Sport. “This is the hardest decision that I’ve ever faced in my life.”
He added that without a change to the way athletes are funded, he sees no future collaborating with Paddle UK. “Unless something changes in the way athletes are paid, I don’t see a way of working with Paddle UK,” he said, as he awaits the outcome of the investigation.
Jason Collins and Brunson Green at Apple's "Visible: Out on Television" screening at The West Hollywood EDITION.
Eric Charbonneau/Getty Images for AppleTV+
Former NBA star Jason Collins is officially a married man!
The center tied the knot with his longtime partner, Brunson Green, over the long weekend. The ceremony took place in Austin, Texas, with photographs and video shared by their friends.
Collins himself wound up reposting some of the shots of his happy day, including one from @esthersong831 that captured the moment the grooms walked back down the aisle holding hands.
Brunson Green and Jason Collins on their wedding day in Austin, Texas.
@esthersong831/Instagram
Back in 2013, Collins became not only the first active NBA player to come out as gay, but the first active player of any of the major male sports leagues in North America.
"When I was younger I dated women," he said in the Sports Illustratedprofile that revealed his truth to the world. "I even got engaged. I thought I had to live a certain way. I thought I needed to marry a woman and raise kids with her. I kept telling myself the sky was red, but I always knew it was blue."
His lengthy career came to a close the following year — which was also the year he met Green.
Although there are many aspects of his relationship Collins continues to keep private (according to Outsports, the only rumblings that he and Green got engaged at the 2023 LA Lakers Pride Night come from people who were present), he’s been an outspoken advocate for the LGBTQ+ community ever since.
Schuyler Bailar speaks onstage during Day 1 of the Clinton Global Initiative 2024 Annual Meeting at New York Hilton Midtown on September 23, 2024 in New York City.
Craig Barritt/Getty Images for Clinton Global Initiative
Author and athlete Schuyler Bailar has been making history for years. In college, he became the first out trans man to compete in a D1 sport while swimming for Harvard, and now he has another accolade under his belt: He kicked off Trans World Pride with a funny and heartwarming keynote speech.
More than two million people from around the world are expected to visit Washington, DC for the WorldPride celebration, and this week, the huge event launched with a Trans Pride event. Throughout the three-week-long event, there will be concerts, performances, parties, protests, advocacy efforts, a huge Pride parade, and a closing weekend festival. The sprawling celebration will also have diverse breakout events for Black Pride, Latinx Pride, and API Pride, and big stars are headlining, with concerts from Shakira, Cynthia Erivo, Reneé Rapp,and Doechii likely to draw huge crowds.
Bailar’s funny and touching keynote speech told the story of his experience of coming out as trans to his traditional Korean American family, and how that impacted him.
The author of He/She/They talked about how scared he was to tell his Catholic grandmother about his transition because she had always made it very clear to Bailar what her expectations were of him as a “granddaughter.”
“She was always asking me like, ‘When are you going to bring home a nice Korean boy?’ And I was always like, ‘Well, little did she know it’s going to be me,’” Bailar joked during his speech, where his father was in the audience.
Trans Pride being the starting place for WorldPride seems fitting at a time when the transgender community is under attack by the Trump administration and conservative politicians across the country. Bailar’s speech about how he came out to his very traditional immigrant family not only was funny and sweet, but charted a clear path forward for young people who are likely scared to come out in the current political climate.
Bailar ended up telling his grandmother that he is trans in a letter that explained everything and ended with, “Grandmother, I’m telling you this because I love you, because I respect you, and because I desperately hope that you will stay in my life.”
He was “pessimistic” that the letter would get through to her, but he ended up reading the letter out loud to his grandparents, and his grandfather clapped when he was done and commented that his grandson had “come out of the closet.”
“I had nothing to say, I didn’t know he knew the words, ‘coming out of the closet,' and he goes, ‘Oh, congratulations,’” Bailar said to laughter from the audience.
But he was still “petrified” to hear his grandmother’s reaction. Luckily for him, her response was simple, but effective: “I know.”
When coming out to all of his family members, Bailar faced hurdles and hiccups along the way, but ultimately got the love and support that everyone in the LGBTQ+ community hopes for.
Some of our favorite queer couples have been expanding their families this year by welcoming new babies into the mix. It's more important than ever to recognize and celebrate LGBTQ+ people just leading the same normal lives as our straight counterparts, so let's offer a hearty congratulations to these happy parents — and well-wishes for the many sleepless nights to come!
Model Candice Huffine and her wife, designer Shelly Lynch-Sparks, announced their pregnancy late last year, with a January due date.
"Being a parent with you is the most expansive thing I have ever done in my life," Lynch-Sparks wrote in a Mother’s Day post this year, addressing her wife. "I wake up everyday and ask time to slow down."
WNBA players Courtney Vandersloot and Allie Quigley managed to keep news of their first child’s arrival a secret for a full month before spilling the deets about baby Jana to People.
"We have been dreaming of this moment for a long time, and it’s better than we could have ever imagined!" they said.
Soccer couple Kristie Mewis and Sam Kerr welcomed their first son, Jagger Mewis-Kerr, in May. Fans had already celebrated on behalf of the couple when they shared news of their pregnancy back in November via a series of adorable photo booth pics featuring their ultrasound.
Brazilian music star Ludmilla and her wife celebrated the birth of their daughter, Zuri, on May 14, by sharing a picture of them holding her tiny hand on Instagram.
"We are living in a moment of great joy and fulfillment, as if we were in paradise," they later said in a statement to People. "Today, if someone asks me what love is, I know how to answer."
Influencers Eden and Jay Treviño extensively documented their journey with IVF before finally being able to let the world know that their child, Jayden, had been born.
"To anyone who still believes queer folks shouldn’t be parents… if this isn’t what unconditional love and family look like, I don’t know what is," Eden shared on Instagram.
Allie Quigley & Courtney Vandersloot; Ludmilla & Brunna Goncalves; Shelly Lynch-Sparks & Candice HuffineEthan Miller/Getty Images; Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images; Gotham/Getty Images