Singer Kehlani was shocked by the negative reaction from her LGBTQ fanbase after announcing her pregnancy.
The pansexual hip-hop sensation, who has been open about her sexual preferences in her music and interviews, has a devoted following among the LGBT community but the 23 year old reveals that after she shared news she was expecting, many fans began to accuse her of using sexuality to further her career.
“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'," the singer tells Nylon magazine. "I never identified as a lesbian. I’ve always been pansexual. My first mixtape included songs about males, and songs about women.
"I never woke up and decided to be the ‘queer icon’ of the century. Having so much attention on me outside my art already gives me enough anxiety. 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."
The star, who has revealed the father of her child is her bisexual guitarist Javie Young-White, also wants individuals to define themselves and not attack anyone for the label they choose.
She adds, “I also saw a lot of discomfort with the use of the word 'queer', hinting that it’s used for folks to run away from identifying with a more ‘solidified’ term, like bi/lesbian/gay/pan," Kehlani adds. "My response is, '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'."
