Ariana Grande knows just how important it is to feel support from the LGBTQ community, especially after growing up with a gay brother, and she detailed that experience in her love letter to the community via Billboard in honor of the kickoff of Gay Pride Month on Friday (June 1).
"There is nothing more infectious than the joy and love that the LGBTQ community exudes," the 24-year-old star kicked off the letter. "I grew up with a gay brother whose every move I would emulate. I idolized him. Everything Frankie did, I would do. I can't remember a difference between Frankie before he came out and Frankie after he came out. He's always just been Frankie. Sexuality and gender were never topics my family and I were afraid to discuss. When Frankie came out my surprisingly unfazed (for his age) grandfather said 'Congrats! Can we go to dinner now? I’m f**kin' hungry.'"
Grande's early roots started out on Broadway, so it's not surprising that the letter also saw the star admit to learning makeup rules from queens in New York City gay bars. "I made my Broadway debut at 14 years old and did 8 shows a week but there was never a night I was too tired to run to a gay bar and do a quick Whitney cover before bed," she continued.
"My music being embraced and celebrated by the LGBTQ community is all I ever truly cared about when I thought about my career goals early on," Grande explained. "There’s no award I could win or accolade I could receive that would fulfill me more than seeing a 6-foot queen with a 4-foot ponytail walk into my meet n greet and say 'hey girl' or meeting a young queer person at Starbucks and them letting me know that my music has helped them become who they are. Literally nothing."
At the end of her note, the pop star admitted that she feels "eternally indebted to and inspired by the LGBTQ community." "I hope to create anthems for you that wrap you up with comfort and make you get your best life for as long as I live. Thank you for celebrating me the way I celebrate you," she concluded. "I love you forever."
Click here for more on Billboard's daily love letters to the LGBTQ community from numerous pop culture luminaries!
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