Image Group LA/ABCIn honor of Pride Month, which kicks off today, Ariana Grande has written a love letter to the LGBTQ community for Billboard.
She starts the letter by talking about her gay older brother, Frankie, whom she grew up idolizing.
“Everything Frankie did, I would do,” she writes. “I can’t remember a difference between Frankie before he came out and Frankie after he came out. He’s always just been Frankie.”
She adds, “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****n’ hungry.’”
In addition, Ariana recalls hows she would perform cover songs at gay bars in New York City back when she was starring on Broadway in her early teens, and that she learned how to do her makeup there, too.
“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,” she writes.
Ariana continues, “I am 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.”
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