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Tyler, The Creator says he had a boyfriend at 15, later claims it was a ‘figure of speech’

By Will Stroude

Tyler, The Creator has sparked more confusion over his sexuality after claiming that he had a boyfriend at the age of 15, only to backtrack later by claiming the comments were a “figure of speech”.

The American rapper, who has been widely criticised for his use of anti-gay language in the past but also included lyrics about kissing boys on his most recent album, 2017’s Flower Boy, muddied the waters further when he told the Know Wave’s Koopz Tunes radio show that he had a boyfriend as a teenager.

“I had a boyfriend when I was fifteen in fucking Hawthorne [California],” Tyler said. “If that’s not open-minded, I don’t know what the fuck that is.”

No other mention was made about the 26-year-old’s sexuality, but the ‘Who Dat Boy’ later backtracked on the comments online, confusingly claiming they had been used as a “figure of speech”.

He wrote on Twitter: “figure of speech to get koopz ‘open minded’ point across, i was single at 15 haha.”

Tyler, who notoriously used the word ‘f**got’ 200 times on his 2011 debut album Goblin, claimed he had been banned from entering the UK by the Home Office in 2015 because of his past use of homophobic lyrics.

The California-born star hit the headlines earlier this year after including the lyric “I been kissing white boys since 2004” on his track ‘I Ain’t Got Time’, which many perceived to be a coming out announcement.

Whatever it was, or wasn’t, it looks like Tyler won’t be giving fans any clarity over his sexuality anytime soon…

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