Frank Ocean On Coming Out: ‘I Did It For My Own Sanity’

In an exclusive interview to be published in the Guardian Guide tomorrow, Frank Ocean explains that his decision to open up about his sexuality was “about my own sanity and my ability to feel like I’m living a life where . . . I’m happy when I wake up in the morning, and not with this freakin’ boulder on my chest.”

“I wished at 13 there was somebody I looked up to who would have said something like that, who would have been transparent in that way,” he said in the interview.

Frank shared his story of falling in love with a man on his personal Tumblr (with a view to include it in the ‘Channel Orange’ sleeve notes) in an preemptive effort to explain why some of his songs addressed feelings towards men.

“I knew that I was writing in a way that people would ask questions,” he said. “I knew that my star was rising, and I knew that if I waited I would always have somebody that I respected be able to encourage me to wait longer, to not say it till who knows when.”

He continued: “People are just afraid of things too much. Sure, evil exists, extremism exists. Somebody could commit a hate crime and hurt me. But they could do the same just because I’m black. They could do the same just because I’m American.”

Watch a Snuggie-free Frank Ocean cover “I Miss You”, a song he penned for Beyonce below: