Beartooth frontman Caleb Shomo opens up about the vitriol he faced after he came out as gay last May.
Speaking The Break Down with Nath & Johnny podcasthe said he was subjected to “homophobia” earlier this year after revealing his sexual orientation and later divorcing his wife of 14 years.
‘I had already decided: I am not going to dilute myself at all. I’m just going to do what I want to do. I’m going to wear what I want to wear. I’m going to sing how I want to sing,” Caleb, 33, recalls.
He emphasized, “I’m going to look at what I want to look like and just enjoy being an artist who gets to do that, and who has the freedom to do that.” However, he added, “That was met with a lot of opposition and a lot of… I mean, really, just a lot of homophobia, and a lot of people who really didn’t like me presenting myself that way, with what I was doing, whatever.”
The rock musician took to Instagram earlier this year and opened up about his sexuality amid ‘a lot of speculation’ [his] personal life’ – showing that he is a ‘proud gay man’.
In July, he and his wife Fleur Shomo (née Terry) jointly filed for divorce in Los Angeles Superior Court. The exes, who married in 2012, do not share any children.
Beartooth frontman Caleb Shomo opens up about the homophobia he faced after coming out as gay last May
In July, he and his wife Fleur Shomo (née Terry) jointly filed for divorce in Los Angeles Superior Court
Shortly after Caleb came out, Fleur expressed his support for him, while also acknowledging the “disorienting and hurtful” breakup.
Amid the negative reactions to his sexuality, the singer said he was “going through so much” and then chose to “get off the internet for a while.”
While his band performed on Bad Omen’s Do You Feel Love? tour, he noted that he had to be on point during each performance, but it was “tough.”
“I mean, I would spend a lot of the day in a really, really bad place just trying to find enough energy and enough will to get myself pumped up and get on that stage and do my damn job,” he shared.
Caleb said he still struggles with homophobia.
“It didn’t really change as we released more and more songs, and the very vocal opposition continued and continues today,” he told listeners.
‘And yes, coming out didn’t help. And just being honest with people about who I am and what’s going on.”
The music artist said that as he prepares his next project, he has to “speak a lot” and “keep working.”
Caleb and Fleur were married for fourteen years before filing for divorce two months after he came out as gay
Caleb is the lead singer of Beartooth, which he founded in 2012; pictured in July 2014 from left to right: bassist Oshie Bichar, drummer Brandon Mullins, guitarist Taylor Lumley, Caleb, guitarist Kamron Bradbury
Caleb wrote a lengthy message to his 213,000 Instagram followers this spring, talking about “something I’ve been working on in my life for quite some time now and have been working on for a while.”
“I feel compelled to set the record straight before it further affects those I love,” he wrote. ‘I’m a proud gay man.’
He then admitted that it was “difficult” for him “to navigate the feelings surrounding the subject and figure out what to do with this fact.”
In his statement, he explained that he “always” put “the deepest part of my soul” into his art and music.
He then reflected on four ‘very self-deprecating’ [Beartooth] albums” he made before it came out.
Caleb noted that his past music explored “his religious upbringing, depression, self-loathing, self-loathing and hopelessness.”
He said he would ‘speak out’ [himself] wholeheartedly and completely” in the music of his upcoming album.
