Written by Beartooth frontman Caleb Shomo has opened up about his devout Christian childhood which made it so difficult for him to accept he was gay.
The 33-year-old came out just a few weeks ago, telling fans: “This is something I’ve been unpacking and reckoning with in my life for quite some time now.”
And in a new interview with Disrespectfully, he goes into detail on his upbringing in the church and how it made coming out incredibly challenging.
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Explaining how his faith made him feel about being gay, he says: “It was a sickness. It’s a sickness you can cure with prayer.
“I’m the son of a preacher who is the son of a preacher. To me, I have no self worth, no self love, no reason for being here other than serving other people and loving other people and following the playbook.
“So that’s a tough place to start, especially being gay.”
He recalls being “terrified” when he realised he was gay and later witnessing a group of people trying to “pray the gay out of one of our crew members”.
He also remembers being ridiculed for wearing a ring at school, adding: “To me, that was this very strong feminine side that I have, but it’s just not the vibe in Ohio in the Christian world.
“And then, the older you get, conversations constantly reminding you how f***ing weird it is to be gay or to do anything remotely gay or feminine.
“So that feeling that I had, which I now understand was my sexuality, I just viewed and compartmentalised as just self-hatred.”
The full interview can be viewed below.
