Remember Mika? He just came out

Does anyone else remember Mika? He had a couple of songs back in 2007 and then sort of just disappeared, because British artists aren’t exactly known for their longevity in North America. Come on, remember? Mika? Super high voice? A song about Grace Kelly? Possibly a castrato? Yeah, that guy.

Anyway, turns out he’s gay.

Many likely remember a 2009 Dutch magazine cover featuring pop star Mika with the sprawling headline “Mika Clears Things Up: Call Me Bisexual.” The only problem was that the story, which he calls “disappointing,” didn’t clear things up at all because it wasn’t exactly what he intended to say. Earlier this week, in a world exclusive, Mika sat down with Instinct to set the record straight (so to speak): “If you ask me am I gay, I say yeah. Are these songs about my relationship with a man? I say yeah. And it’s only through my music that I’ve found the strength to come to terms with my sexuality beyond the context of just my lyrics. This is my real life.”

I mean, good for him for coming out, I guess, but part of this . . . kinda rings of opportunism. He’s been avoiding discussing his sexuality entirely for years (as he put it, he doesn’t like labels), so the fact that he a) waited three years to clarify the story, and b) basically used bisexuality — a legitimate sexual orientation in and of itself — as a sort of gentle introduction to his gayness just smacks a bit disingenuous. Once again, good for him for finally being open about who he is; it just sucks that the route he chose to get there was kinda total bullshit.

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