Photo: WENN
Less than a week after his bandmate George Shelley opened up about his sexuality, Union J's Jaymi Hensley has revealed that many musicians are told, "You can't come out."
Hensley came out as gay when he was a contestant on The X Factor in 2012, but it was only last week that fellow Union J member George Shelley revealed that he's had relationships with men and women.
Though Shelley's coming out was received warmly among fans, peers and casual observers, there are some (generally older) music industry insiders who actively discourage LGBT artists from revealing their identity.
"I've seen it happen to other people in the industry," said Jaymi Hensley at this year's National Student Pride, "and they've been told that you can't come out, it's not going to do well for your sales. I think I'm testament to say that it means bugger all, it doesn't matter. I have just as much of a female fan base as my other three band members. I just like boys."
He also revealed that a gay reporter had been "goading for George's sexuality" for the last six months. "He was going for it, trying to get every piece of information: any guy he's talked to, any girl he's talked to. You're making it like a witch hunt, like it's sonething wrong."
Meanwhile, Clean Bandit's Neil Milan criticised journalist Dan Wooton for saying Shelley's sexuality is "something that's long been known in the showbiz industry."
this is such a patronising and unpleasant response why is there always someone who says it https://t.co/Zt98A01lNg
— Neil Milan (@neil_milan) February 3, 2016
Despite the fact that Shelley explicitly declines to label his sexuality, most tabloids have decided to label him bisexual anyway.
