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Coming out can be a challenge, but some LGBTQ+ fans have leaned on their favorite stars to help them with the process. We’re days away from the culmination of Pride Month and iHeartRadio is turning our attention over to the superstars who have offered some assistance. Scroll on below to read through some heartwarming stories!
1.) Madonna
When it comes to the pioneering LGBTQ+ icons, Madonna ranks at the top of the list. She's helped fans of all kinds come out of the closet, including Ellen DeGeneres. In fact, the two had a conversation prior to the comedian coming out in 1997 and that very exchange prompted the future talk show host to share her truth with the world.
2.) Lady Gaga
Lady Gaga is an obvious inclusion in this list. With her LGBTQ+ anthem, "Born This Way," she inspired millions of fans to come out to their families, including cosmetology student Brandon Galaz. In a letter to the superstar, he told her that the song's lyrics helped him share his truth with his relatives. In response to the moving note, Gaga invited the Little Monster to her Haus Laboratories event, where they two spoke about the monumental decision. "It's not how we look that makes us beautiful. It's what we’ve been through and how we survive," Gaga told the fan during the M&G, which was captured by Allure.
3.) Aly & AJ
Aly & AJ have credited their fans with helping to revive their career since their Disney days and some of those very supporters are a part of the LGBTQ+ community. "It really is, and a large amount of our gay fans have actually come up to us and said, ‘Your music helped me come out’ or ‘I realized that my sexual preference is different from what my parents expected or wanted,'" the two said in an interview with GAY TIMES. They’ve even said, ‘I feel really empowered by your music and it brought me to that place where I felt it was okay to come out’. That to me is the coolest thing to hear. It’s amazing that our music has helped fans realize exactly who they are and what they want in life."
4.) Rihanna
Rihanna offered support via Instagram DM and it was so much more than a one-liner piece of advice. When one member of the NAVY reached out, she told the fan not to be scared. "It's more important to be who you are! You don't have a choice really! That's not a decision to be made!" she wrote, before going back and forth with the fan and chatting with him after the big reveal. "I'm so proud of you! I'm glad to see you finally happy with yourself! Being who you are is the only way."
Photo: Instagram
5.) Harry Styles
When it comes to Harry Styles, the former One Direction bandmate helped a fan named Grace come out in the middle of his live set. "I traveled 2,846 miles to be here tonight thank you for 10 incredible shows," the fan's double-sided poster read. "I'm gonna come out to my parents because of you!!!" Styles caught wind of the message mid-show and asked if he could read her poster aloud. He then asked for her mother's name, to which she replied, Tina and explained how she was a few miles away at a neighboring model. "TINA, SHE’S GAY!" he screamed to the crowd, before pretending to hear Grace's mother from inside the venue. "Tina says she loves ya. Congratulations, I’m very happy for you."
6.) Troye Sivan
Troye Sivan did the same during one of his 2016 concerts when a fan named Kelly wanted to come out to her mom. "If you’re reading this, can you announce that Kelly is bisexual, please?" Sivan read to the concert audience, before shaking the fan's hand and blowing her a kiss. After the set, Kelly and her mother reunited and hugged one another.
7.) Lindsay Lohan
When one fan asked Lindsay Lohan for help in "coming out to [her] parents" through a Cameo video, the Means Girls star offered up an unexpected video response. "I know that you are about to take a very big step in telling your parents who you truly are and what you want them to accept of you,” Lohan said in her video response, adding, "And I think that you should do it yourself."