k.d. lang says she was willing to risk her career to be open about her sexuality.
The 57-year-old singer came out as gay publically in 1992 and claims the response to her sexuality was "huge" – and although she feared the reaction would negatively impact on her life, the ‘Constant Craving’ hitmaker felt a responsibility to be "open and vulnerable" with herself and with "society".
In an interview with DIVA magazine, she said: "The response was huge.
"If we focus on the timeline, the AIDs crisis was big and homophobia was big, but when you’re in the mist of something you don’t have a full perspective of what’s happening.
When asked whether she was worried that coming out would affect her career, she said: "Yes but I was willing to risk it.
"I really felt like coming out, being open and vulnerable. It wasn’t even a choice, it was a necessity. I had to do it. I had to do it for myself and I had to do it for society.
"I just felt it was the right thing to do."
The ‘Miss Chatelaine’ singer went on to explain that in order to cope with being publically queer in a time the LGBTQ+ community was less vocal, she would "hold her head up high" and try not to pay mind to criticism.
She said: "It was really just a matter of going to work every day, being open, answering questions and holding my head up high and taking criticism with a grain of salt.
"Now I have a better perspective on it, it was a huge moment in pop culture.
"I feel extraordinarily blessed that I was able to have a positive impact on our social structure."
k.d. lang willing to risk career to come out as gay
