ROB HALFORD Says His Homosexuality Is A 'Non-Issue' For Most JUDAS PRIEST Fans

July 13, 2004

JUDAS PRIEST singer Rob Halford recently spoke to the New York Daily News about touring with the band for the first time since he came out of the closet six years ago.

"Most fans couldn't care less," said Halford. "They want to hear this singer back with this band. It's a non-issue."

Halford said that imagines that some fans, upon first hearing the news, must have thought "'I've got all these records by this band I love, but I don't get along with gay people. Oh God, what do I do?'"

The singer said he probably wouldn't have risked coming out at all if he had been with PRIEST at the time.

"People will be angry at that, but I love this band too much," he said. "If I felt it was too much of a risk or danger to the band I would not have done it."

Halford sees a key difference between the band's identity and his own. When speaking in the context of PRIEST, he says "I always felt that these types of issues are private."

When speaking as an individual, he stresses that it's vital for gay people to come out "so we can rid ourselves of the prison bars and take away the ammunition [of the detractors]."

Given the push and pull of such arguments, it's no wonder Halford took a long time to decide to come clean. For all those years in PRIEST, Halford says he believed that "if I came out I would be utterly rejected."

Now, he feels that assumption presents "a misconception about the metal community. It's a myth." Read more.

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