
In May of 2010 country singer Chely Wright announced through a People magazine cover story that she was gay.
The musician made the talk show rounds and said lovely rosy things about the experience. Close to a year later, Wright has changed her tune. The industry and the fans aren’t as pleased as she initially thought and her album sales have tanked to half of what they were before her reveal. Wright also spoke about getting hate mail and being basically ostracized by the Nashville music community.
In an interview with Autostraddle, Wright says:
It didn’t help my career. My record sales went directly in half. If it appears from the outside in that it’s helped my career, it could be because I haven’t talked about the negative. You won’t hear me bitching and moaning on my Facebook about the hate mail I’ve gotten. My life has been threatened. I get nasty letters every day, “I’m through with you Chely Wright, you’re going to hell.” There’s a big difference between press and advocacy and…. sometimes people forget that people who sing or make movies, this isn’t just a hobby for us. This is how I pay my bills. In coming out I had a feeling that it would diminish my wage earning, and that feeling was correct. And, I am fine with that.
The “Single White Female” songstress says the only Nashville artist who publicly supported her was Mary Chapin Carpenter.
For now, Wright says she is determined to forge ahead and make a difference by starting the LIKE ME Foundation which is about inclusion and support for the LGBT community.
[image: Joseph Marzullo/WENN.com]