Out gay singer Chely Wright lost friends, and sales cut in half: ‘I’m fine with that.’
”Some of my friends who are artists reached out to me privately, but only one of those artists — Mary Chapin Carpenter — made a public statement about my coming out, to the positive. Mary Chapin Carpenter said, ‘Chely should be commended for what she’s done.’ My other artist friends reached out to me privately and said they loved me and that they were proud of me, but when asked publicly they said no comment…
”There’s the gay community that now knows my name, and it’s a long leap from the new demographic of people who will come to my Facebook page and hit the ‘Like’ button to them buying my record and coming to live shows. It’s a big stretch from those new fans to make up for the fans I lost. It didn’t help my career. My record sales went directly in half…. In coming out I had a feeling that it would diminish my wage earning, and that feeling was correct. And, I am fine with that.”
Chely Wright speaking with the lesbian blog Autostraddle, reflecting on the past year. She says that coming out gay was in no way easy — industry friends wouldn’t talk to her publicly, she gets hate mail, and her new gay fans have not made up for the loss in sales.
She is taking part in a documentary that follows her coming out experience. It’s called ”Wish Me Away.” If you’d like to contribute to the film, you can donate here. Also, her last album is available at Amazon.com (download is just $5).
Also, you can read her interview with Metro Weekly just before she came to DC to perform at Pride 2010.
Country Radio Story from TVgals Media on Vimeo.
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