Brothers Osborne Say TJ’s Coming Out Has Been a Huge ‘Relief’

Brothers Osborne front man TJ Osborne took a leap of faith with last month’s revelation that he is gay. And now he’s opened up about the public reaction.

Calling in to SiriusXM’s The Storme Warren Show with his brother and band mate, John, the baritone-singing star was asked how his announcement went, now that it’s in the rearview. And according to TJ, it was definitely “weird,” but also a huge relief.

“It was so awkward to come out to people,” the “All Night” singer admitted. “It’s like a really strange thing to bring up. It’s like, even though it’s a positive thing, it almost feels like when you want to like break up with someone and you don’t know how to say it. It feels like that. It’s just weird. … Especially for guys like me, it’s like, this is probably going to be a shock.”

The singer told fans the news in an in-depth feature story with Time, noting that it didn’t define him as a person — and that nothing had really changed, since he’s always been gay. Talking with Warren, though, Osborne said the awkward feeling was a big part of why he stayed closeted for so long. But since his coming out, he’s received a lot of support.

“I was surprised at how many people were very supportive,” he said. “I mean, people that were just like, you know, I remember this, this straight dude, man. He’s like, ‘Hey man, me and my girlfriend come to all your shows. Like, we’re still going to come, just so you know.’ And I’m like, ‘that’s awesome. Thanks for saying that.’”

There have also been some hurtful people, he admits, but that was to be expected. And to those people, his brother John wanted to say something. John has been in TJ’s corner all along and feels relieved that TJ can finally be his full self — and “full self” is the important part. No one is one dimensional, he argued, explaining that people are made up of lots of different traits. And being gay isn’t the only thing that makes TJ who he is.

“We all have characteristics of ourselves and certain qualities, but not one thing defines any of that,” John of Brothers Osborne explained. “It’s a multitude of things. It’s an amalgam, you know, and look, I’ve been very open about my own mental health and struggles like that, that it doesn’t define me. And the second that you think that’s one thing defines you is where it all goes wrong.”

Looking back now, that’s part of TJ says he’s most proud of. He never felt like he fit into the “gay” mold, and so he denied that part of himself to others. But now that he’s out, he can show everyone that they don’t have to fit any mold. Ultimately, that’s good for country music, and he sees the same effect with how black voices are starting to be heard in the genre.

“Going forward now, and you see … Jimmie Allen and Mickey Guyton and Kane Brown, that there’s a lot of black people out there that love country music or people of color that want that want to come,” TJ explained. “And they just never had that representation before. So I think for me, I’m really excited to at least bring that little bit of buy-in to the country music genre. Because I mean … I think it makes just country just way more broad and it’s really a place that … should be for everyone.”

Brothers Osborne released their third album, Skeltons, last October, and went on to talk more about how they felt leading up to TJ’s announcement, how it’s impact John and much more. SiriusXM’s The Storme Warren Show can be heard each weekday morning on 7:00 am ET on The Highway.