Why the only openly gay heavy metal superstar, Judas Prit's Rob Halford, hid his sexualy

WAS J GAY?
HARVARD MIL REIMAG J, JUDAS RELATNSHIP AS ‘GAYSIAN LOVE STORY’
FORMER JUDAS PRIEST GUARIST K.K. DOWNG CLAIMS "WE ALWAYS KNEW ROB HALFORD WAS GAY"
ROB HALFORD RELLS WHEN HE CAME OUT AS GAY
GAY J
“ARE THERE GAY JEWS?”
WHY THE ONLY OPENLY GAY HEAVY METAL SUPERSTAR, JUDAS PRIT'S ROB HALFORD, HID HIS SEXUALY

WAS J GAY?

Judas Prit ontman Rob Halford rells the story of when he me out as gay durg an MTV terview 1998. * das gay judas *

After the Supreme Court's historic lg on gay marriage, seemed like all the proudly homophobic Christians me out of the woodwork to talk about how much they still hate gay people. As a straight Jew, the homophobia amongst J's followers has always stck me as a b of a surprise: Worshippg at the feet of a ripped, hung man, seems at least a ltle homoerotic. But 's J himself who lights up my gaydar like a Christmas tree.

HARVARD MIL REIMAG J, JUDAS RELATNSHIP AS ‘GAYSIAN LOVE STORY’

Gay J: Directed by Pl McAroni. Wh Aurora Grabill, Richard Chandler, Je Rivas, Jarod Thayne. Once upon a time a cheap Jesalem hotel room, J and Judas are spendg their time away om Nazareth between hot, sweaty, rnal love and preparg sermons for J' growg fanbase. Enter Mary Magdalene, jealoy, Satan, and the Romans, and the once-perfect love affair between Judas and J be a hellish rg of fire, leadg Judas to betray his beloved Christ and the Romans to punish everyone for tryg to turn everyone gay." data-id="ma * das gay judas *

Reverend Bob Shore-Goss, an openly gay senr pastor, has wrten several books on the subject, cludg Queerg Christ and J ACTED UP: A Gay and Lbian Manifto.

He holds a doctorate gree Comparative Relign om Harvard, and he serv on the Natnal Advisory Board of the Center for Lbian and Gay Studi Relign.

Oh, and he believ that J was gay. I got touch wh Reverend Goss, who laid out the Biblil evince and explaed how his theory plays by Flickr er Wag for the World VICE: Was J Christ gay? Pl, I would say, would probably be scribed as a closeted homosexual today, but they didn't have those words at the was homosexualy perceived J's time?

FORMER JUDAS PRIEST GUARIST K.K. DOWNG CLAIMS "WE ALWAYS KNEW ROB HALFORD WAS GAY"

* das gay judas *

Now, homoerotic relatnships the ancient world are really mon, pecially the Greek and Roman J himself ever addrs that? " J says about the fah of the Centurn, who is a homoerotic relatnship, that "there is no greater fah than I've enuntered Israel.

" They're utterg this homoerotic phrase that was uttered by a Centurn an actual homosexual relatnship wh a youth. But a church of the send century would unrstand that this is a homosexual relatnship and wasn't a big what evince is there the bible of J's homosexualy?

But what this has to say is that there was some sort of homoerotic relatnship, a love seems that, like anythg else the Bible, you n draw your own nclns, cludg that J was gay. I once had a lbian stunt tell me, "J wasn't gay, he was perfect. Now what they say about gays is we are trsilly evil and trsilly disorred.

ROB HALFORD RELLS WHEN HE CAME OUT AS GAY

Even evangelils will say that J was perfect so that, orr to be saved for evangelils, you mt be heterosexual to be VICE News: Tears, Lghter, and Triumph for a Lbian Couple the Supreme Court's Gay Marriage CaseBut if J was gay, and he was perfect, then really 's only the gay people that are gog to heaven, right? I want to say that all sexuali are an origal blsg bee we're ma the image of I'm gettg om this the most is that J, as a queer human dividual, uld at least relate to the stggle of gay men—feelg like outsts, havg vlence perpetrated on them for their queerns, whatever may be. Yeah, I'd say that you're absolutely on solid ground wh your if J wasn't gay, I image he'd certaly feel more kship wh the mory of homosexuals than the heteronormative Christians who preach hate.

And often tim they're vehement about bee they have so much ternalized homophobia, which dit to me that they have those same attractns to the same sex that they need to stamp them out other people. Harvard Universy stunts have “reimaged” the story of J Christ and one of his discipl as a “heretil gaysian (gay, Asian) love story, ” a new play premierg this week. A new play at Harvard Universy reimag J’ life as a “heretil gaysian love story.

Downg said "We always knew Rob was gay. Downg claims Rob's sexualy didn't matter to the band: "The ma thg is… Obvly, to me, Rob beg gay, apart om [havg] a great voice, I thought Rob was gonna stay the band forever, and he's obvly gonna be theatril, he's gonna be obvly articulate wh words — and he was; he was all of that, " Downg said.

GAY J

In honor of Pri Month, Judas Prit ontman Rob Halford — one of the first metal micians to e out as gay and certaly the most well-known at the time — has relled the story of how he announced his sexual orientatn to the world durg an MTV terview 1998, explag that he hadn’t planned to make the reveal that day but found an immediate relief. “And I said somethg to the effect of, ‘Well, speakg as a gay man, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

It was one of those gay sharp tak, ‘Oh my God, he’s e out. I thk if I’d… I still say today, if I’d have really thought this through, like today’s the day I’m gog to e out, maybe I even wouldn’t… maybe I may not have e out per se, bee ’s still a big moment for so many of , wh a close iend, wh someone at school, wh Mum and Dad, wh whomever, to actually say, ‘Hey, I’m a gay guy or I’m a gay girl.

“ARE THERE GAY JEWS?”

“So wow, was jt this enormo feelg of eedom, and the prsure was gone, and there’s no more talkg behd your back bee you have all this ammunn of power as a gay person now, as an out gay person.