Ciara has showered the LGBT community in praises this month, sharing her stance a number of pressing hot topics surrounding them in an interview with The Advocate.
Find out what she had to say below…
Interview below….
“Why do you think so many gay fans have connected with you since the beginning of your career?
That’s a good question, at least for me I can say that I welcome everybody. No one is different from the other. I’m very grateful that I have a diverse group of fans as well. We welcome individuality over here in my world and I think that my fans can see and feel that.
In addition to Nicki, you’ve collaborated with a number of talented people over the years. Since you have a strong gay fan following, are there any out LGBT artists you’d like to work with in the future?
What I would like to do is collaborate with the gay dance community. I think that would be really fun. You know, like walking at Balls and some other cool stuff. I would love to do something like that.
Are you a fan of the New York Ball scene?
It’s crazy, I’ve never been able to go! I’ve only seen stuff online, but I am definitely going to go and I can’t wait to have that experience.
So if RuPaul called you up and asked you to appear as a guest judge on Drag Race you’d do it?
[Laughs] Yes, I would. I totally would!
You’re also a huge basketball fan. What do you think of Washington Wizards center, Jason Collins, coming out of the closet and becoming the first out gay athlete in the NBA?
I think it’s cool, because you have to embrace who you are. If you don’t embrace who you are and accept who you are you won’t be able to live a happy life. At the end of the day, we have to live our lives for ourselves. I’m sure he had the biggest sense of freedom when he came out. I’m always happy for a person that can be confident, embrace who they are, and live life how they want to live.
Basketball and hip-hop stars frequently cite one another as inspirations. Do you think the hip-hop community will embrace Jason Collins like it has other athletes?
I don’t see why not. At least from my perspective, because I feel like nowadays we’re more in tune with individualism. Maybe it’s the lens I see things through, but I just feel like we’re living in the days of self-expression and we’re seeing more of that on many levels. Whether it’s the person who you are, what you like to wear, or what you like to do. It’s just so cool when you meet people who are different than you are. That can give you a different perspective, a view point on life, or inspire you. I mean, what would the world be like if we were all the same? I think it would be very boring.
You’ve also been a vocal supporter of antibullying campaigns. However, you’ve experienced a fair amount of bullying yourself since you hit stardom. How do you personally cope with negativity that comes your way?
You have to know that you’re going to be faced with people who are going to try to throw things your way. But I feel like people only have as much importance in your life as you give them. If you say something is important, then it’s important. If you say it matters, then it matters because you have to live your life for you.
In addition to the new album, you’re also gearing up for a brand-new tour as well. Can you give us any hints about what we can expect to see? Do you have any surprises in store?
Of course, what would I be without any surprises, darling? [Laughs] I’m in the process of putting it all together, but this go around, with the whole energy kick that I’m on right now, I definitely want to turn things up a notch. I always want to challenge myself, so that never stops. But I always hope that when I do a show, my fans leave thinking they had a good time, a great experience, and were able to feel a little more connected to me. That’s what’s most important to me.”