TJ Osborne, one half of the duo Brothers Osborne, made country music history in 2021 when he came out as gay, becoming the first openly gay artist signed to a major country label.
But years beforehand, he came out to his brother and bandmate John. The duo shared that story in a recent interview on SiriusXM, and apparently when TJ officially shared the news, it didn’t come as a huge surprise.
“As his older brother, you just kind of know, but it’s not my place to ask,” John says.
TJ jokingly adds, “When you saw my Internet history you kind of knew.”
The singer goes on to say he came out to his brother around the time they signed their record deal, which was in 2012.
“I was like, ‘Hey, before we sign this and we get kind of tangled up, contractually entangled in something, you need to know that this is a thing I need to tell you about me that I think you might know, but I also want you to know that I do intend on coming out at some point,’” TJ remembers. “I don’t know when that is, but I don’t want to live my life closeted.”
John’s response was to make a joke. “To break awkward tension, I just remember saying, ‘Well, you don’t have to worry, TJ, because the other member in your band is a raging heterosexual, so I’m here to balance you out,’” he recounts.
All jokes aside, John immediately wanted to make his brother feel comfortable and accepted. “It was after that then we just had drinks and I felt so much happiness and joy for him,” John continues, “and it was a beautiful, beautiful night.”
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