In June, Josh Kiszka revealed that he's "been in a loving, same-sex relationship with my partner for the past 8 years" on Instagram. Now, the Greta Van Fleet singer is opening up about why he waited to come out.
“I was really concerned. I felt like, ‘Well, I’m going to have a target on my back,’” he told Rolling Stone. “You really feel that way, which is unfortunate, but it’s true.”
Thankfully, the reaction he received was a positive one. “Everything had been met with love and acceptance and humility and respect, and that was a huge wave of reassurance that things are moving in the right direction,” Kiszka explained. “As a performer and as an entertainer, a huge weight was lifted. Because ultimately as an artist or just as a person, we all want to be understood to some degree.”
He also recalled fans at a Nashville show distributed pieces of colored paper throughout the venue and during the encore, "Light of My Love," They all shined their phone lights behind the paper to create a rainbow effect.
“The fact that that many people could communicate and coordinate to make that happen was extraordinary,” he said. “It was really difficult for me to keep it together, and this sounds very deep, but the song took on new meaning in that moment. I explained to the audience that I hope that maybe one day it’ll be irrelevant when [I’m singing] ‘Hate bound by fear will unwind.’ When you say words like that, you realize that you’re in the middle of a movement.”