Troye Sivan couldn’t relate to George Michael or Ricky Martin because they were “so much older”
Troye Sivan has fast become one of the most outspoken LGBT+ stars around, using his platform to encourage queer people to come out and to celebrate same-sex love. The 21-year-old singer has become a role model for kids all over the world, who are struggling with self-acceptance. And in a recent interview with Paper magazine, Troye revealed how a lack of gay role models during his own youth led him to be such a visible LGBT+ celebrity.
“The lack of representation is definitely something that kind of shaped the way that I’m trying to mould my whole career,” he explained. “I remember the first gay kiss that I saw on TV and how much it blew my mind. And I never saw [one] again for a number of years.”
But while seeing LGBT+ people in the media encouraged him, there was never someone to whom the young star could truly relate. “Eventually hearing about someone like Ricky Martin coming out, or George Michael, and those were kind of the ones that I saw, I just couldn’t see myself in those people,” he told Paper. “They were so much older than I was, and, yeah, it was just a different world. I’m always trying to be true to myself and hopefully some people will be able to see themselves in me, and think, ‘Oh! I’m like that person’. Or at the very least, understand that it’s OK to be different.”
Clearly, LGBT+ people do feel that way about Troye – in June, a transgender fan thanked him for inspiring them to come out to their father.