Out artist Jake Shears has said in a
new interview that he would not have come out in high school if he
knew about the danger he put himself in.
The 39-year-old Shears, who is best
known as the lead male singer for the pop band Scissor Sisters, told
Time Out London that coming out at 16 left him vulnerable to
homophobic abuse.
“I wouldn't have come out at school
when I did If I'd known the kind of danger it was going to put me
in,” Shears said.
“That's what I would have changed. I
couldn't go back into the closet. I'd have waited if I would have
known,” he
added.
Shears said that he understands why his
parents were scared about their son being open about his sexuality.
“Yeah,” he said. “To their
credit, there were arguments and I knew there would be. But they had
reason to be upset. They were really scared and they were scared for
me.”
Late last year, Shears
released Creep
City, his first song as a solo artist.