21 November 2014
Newsdesk
LeAnn Rimes cried after Ty Herndon and Billy Gilman came out.
Country singer Ty told Entertainment Tonight during an interview on Thursday that he is “an out, proud and happy gay man".
Then on Thursday afternoon, fellow singer Billy Gilman also came forward to reveal his sexuality in an emotional YouTube video.
And Ty and Billy’s revelations reduced their colleague LeAnn to tears.
“I'm crying in a damn @McDonalds restroom in VA Thx to you both @TyHerndoncom @BillyGilman #speakthetruth #LGBT #ComingOut,” LeAnn tweeted.
During his interview with ET, Ty, 52, admitted he had done everything within his power to conceal his sexuality – including getting married, twice.
"I've dreamed about being in country music since I was six years old," he said. “It's my life, it’s what I do, it's who I am, and I went to great lengths to cover up [being gay] to be a country star."
Ty also claimed that both of his ex-wives knew the truth, adding: “I had a lot of people around me that I trusted... and I was like, 'Hey, you know this about me but the world doesn't. So I'm gonna need to call on your services for a little while.’”
Meanwhile, Billy posted a video on YouTube revealing his truth to fans.
In the footage, which runs for over five minutes, Billy tells his fans: “It’s difficult for me to make this video, not because I’m ashamed of being a gay male artist, or a gay artist or a gay person, but it’s pretty silly to know that I’m ashamed of doing this knowing that I’m in a genre and an industry that’s ashamed of me for being me.”
