June 26, 2014
Demi Lovato: My Grandfather was Gay
Jason St. Amand READ TIME: 2 MIN.
Pop star Demi Lovato revealed this week for the first time that her grandfather was gay. Her announcement came while she was taping a segment for Logo's TV special "Trailblazers," which honors LGBT heroes and will air Thursday at 9 p.m., People reports.
"I feel a lot of my spirit has come from him," she said. "I've never spoken about this before, but my grandfather was a trailblazer himself. He was brave enough to come out in the 1960s, and I feel a lot of my spirit has come from him."
Lovato, 21, talked about her grandfather before introducing Netflix's "Orange is the New Black," one of the honorees on "Trailblazers."
"He passed away a few years later, and I only wish he could have seen all the progress that has been made," said the singer. "It's such an honor to be welcomed and embraced by the LGBT community."
Lance Bass was at the event and Lovato tweeted a photo of them together.
"I'm soooo happy I got to catch up with the adorable and super sweet @lancebass!!" Lovato wrote.
Also honored at the "Trailblazers" event include Edie Windsor and Roberta Kaplan, who helped overturn part of the Defense of Marriage Act, and Jason Collins, the first openly gay pro-athlete in North America. There are also appearances by President Bill Clinton, Daniel Radcliffe, Maroon 5 frontman Adam Levine, Jared Leto, Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, singer Ed Sheeran and rapper Iggy Azalea.
Lovato will also perform at NYC Pride's Dance on the Pier this Sunday.
"Demi Lovato is an amazing role model for today's youth, both LGBT and non-LGBT, for her activism in the area of equality, positive messaging on body image, and level of openness with her struggles. As a community, we're fortunate to have an ally like Demi," said Patti DiLuigi, Co-President of Christopher Street West, producers of LA PRIDE.