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Country star Chely Wright comes out after years of living in fear
May 6, 2010
This week, Singer/Songwriter Chely Wright became the first prominent country music star to declare publicly that she is gay. On the Today Show, The Joy Behart Show and in a People magazine cover story, Wright discussed her decision to live openly as a lesbian entertainer in the country music world.
Mitchell Gold, founder of the national nonprofit Faith In America, today praised Wright for her courage and for agreeing to join the board of directors of the organization.
"I'm so very grateful for Chely's desire to join our board as the organization seeks to end the immense harm caused to gay and lesbian Americans, especially youth, when certain church teaching is misused to justify prejudice and hostility."
"Her desire to alleviate human injustice in this area – and other areas – reflects what a wonderful person she is," Gold said.
"The reaction from her fans and others has been overwhelmingly positive. Chely's decision is creating an opportunity for the voices of acceptance and equality to be heard and history has shown that those voices reflect the true hearts and minds of most Americans."
Gold said Wright's life experiences drew her to the work Faith In America is doing as she recognizes that gay and lesbian individuals suffer real harm because of a societal climate that places a religious and moral stamp of approval on prejudice and discrimination toward them.
Wright was named the Academy of Country Music’s Top New Female Vocalist in 1999. The 39-year old Kansas native has seven albums under her belt and scored a No. 1 hit in 1999 with “Single White Female.” She is released her new album, “Lifted off the Ground,” this week and her memoir, “Like Me,” hit the bookstores as well.