Rayvon Owen Is Gay, Kisses A Guy in Music Video of “Can’t Fight It”

Rayvon Owen came out as gay. The American Idol 14 contestant told Billboard magazine about his sexuality and talked about his new music “Can’t Fight It.” The video showed Rayvon kissing another guy.

“I grew up in a Christian home in the South. In those communities it’s still, to this day, very taboo. People are still getting kicked out of their homes and parents are still disowning their kids. My mother still loves me but it wasn’t easy at first. And she said some things that she apologized for. She only knows what she knows from the community she grew up in, which is very similar to how I grew up. That’s another reason why I’m doing this. I think it’s a conversation that needs to be had in the church, especially as an African-American. There are so many LGBT people in the black church who are either leaving because they don’t feel welcome or they’re afraid to be who they really are. These are the people who are running the church, the worship leaders, the piano players, the singers, the choir members — a lot of them are gay but don’t say anything. They can’t talk about it because they’re afraid they’re going to lose their jobs. Or get kicked out of the church or be seen differently. Kirk Franklin, who is a huge gospel star, apologized to the LGBT community because of how a lot of us have been treated. He said there is room at the cross for everybody, which is true, and God loves everybody and makes no exception. You’d be surprised at the amount of times I tried to pray the gay away from me or tried to tell God to take this away from me. No kid should have to do what I did and pray to not be who they are. That’s why I think it’s important even in 2016 to say this.”

Rayvon co-wrote “Can’t Fight It” with Mylen, Nate Merchant and Isaiah Tejada.

VIDEO

Read more of the interview via Billboard.