Spirit Day: Halsey Talks About The Hardships Of Coming Out In 2017

Now in its 7th year, Spirit Day sees folks from all walks of life take a stand against LGBTQ bullying and harassment by rocking the color purple on the third Thursday in ever October during National Bullying Prevention Month, and Halsey is in on the cause. As a prominent pop alley to the community, the 23-year-old joins millions of people worldwide making a strong stance for the annual initiative. Currently on the road for her "hopeless fountain kingdom tour," Halsey stopped by iHeartRadio HQ in New York City to talk about the yearly occasion and shared advice for her LGBTQ following struggling with bullying.

"It's really hard when people pick on you for a part of your identity," the 23-year-old said of the hardships that come with bullying, before admitting that being criticized for appearance or talent is on an entirely different level.

"But if someone's like, you know, 'I hate you' because of something that you are, that's hard. That's hard because that's not something you can change about yourself. You know what I mean? That's not an opinion. It's, like, 'I am that.' It's an opinion of ugly. It's not an opinion of a bad singer. It's not an opinion if you're gay. I'm gay. It's just like what it is. It's not something you can change and being picked on for it is really ... It can make you feel really helpless and really defenseless and then it can make you question everything else about yourself, too."

Halsey went on to admit that even she was nervous to start using female pronouns in her music as heard on her newest single, "Bad at Love." "I think a lot of the time people think that because you're a musician that you're confident out the gate," she revealed.

Still, Halsey found the confidence to be outright about her identity and wants to remind her fans, especially the younger ones, to always keep their chin up. "I like to remind them that the small battles that they're fighting right now ultimately make them stronger to win the war in the end," she said. 

"People fear what they don't understand, and if people can't relate or wrap their head around something about you, it scares them that they don't understand that because maybe it makes them feel stupid or it makes them feel wrong and so they can kind of lash out back at you," she continued. "Just keep talking about who you are [and] keep being proud of who you are because the more people that can kind gain perspective and gain understanding, hopefully, we can move past that kind of bullying. Once people stop fearing the things they don't understand, or the things that they don't relate to, then hopefully we will be in a much better place."

If you want to learn more about Spirit Day 2017, head over to GLAAD's official website.

Photo: Getty Images


Sponsored Content

Sponsored Content