Judas Priest’s Rob Halford Says US “Still Incredibly Homophobic” Despite Progress
los Angeles, CA – Judas Priest frontman Rob Halford asserts the United States remains deeply prejudiced despite decades of LGBTQ+ rights advancements, revealing ongoing personal experiences with homophobia and recalling the fear he faced after publicly coming out in the 1990s.Halford, widely considered the “Metal God,” spoke candidly about the challenges of being a gay man in the heavy metal world, a genre historically associated with hypermasculinity.
Halford publicly came out as gay in 1998 during an appearance on MTV, an proclamation famously punctuated by a dropped clipboard. Reflecting on the moment, he described an initial wave of anxiety followed by a resolute “I don’t care.” However, the singer emphasized that his coming out wasn’t a calculated move, but a “pure stream of consciousness.” Despite widespread acceptance among bandmates, label executives, and even a surprising number of fans who “always thought you were gay anyway,” Halford has continued to encounter prejudice.
“Being a gay man and coming out into a metal world, at the time, that was really challenging because of the homophobia and the pushback,” Halford told NME in 2024. “And I still get it now.” He further detailed in a 2019 interview with the Edmonton Journal that there are “places I can’t go back to because I’ll be stoned to death,” underscoring the real and present danger he still perceives.
Halford has spoken about the isolating experience of living for others rather than himself during the 1970s and 80s, a sentiment echoing the struggles many LGBTQ+ individuals faced before greater societal acceptance. He described being trapped in a cycle of prioritizing external perceptions over personal authenticity. His experiences highlight the enduring challenges faced by LGBTQ+ individuals, even within communities seemingly embracing diversity, and serve as a reminder that progress, while meaningful, is not global or complete.
