Khalid says that being outed as gay on social media was “annoying as fuck.”
In an interview with media personality Scott Evans, Khalid reflected on when his former partner, Hugo D Almonte, revealed the singer’s sexuality in a series of posts on X last year.
“That shit was annoying as fuck, to put it bluntly,” revealed Khalid around the 33-minute mark. “That was very annoying because that’s not where I live my own life — for a situation to be five years in the past to be brought up on a public platform where you have to defend yourself against word of mouth. I really wanted to prove my stance and then eventually I was like, I don’t give a fuck.”
“I didn’t want to write this long paragraph and be like, ‘Now I’m out,’ Khalid continued. “I was just like, I’m gonna tweet the gay flag. Like, whatever. I’m gay. Let’s move on.”
Khalid went further about how he felt the need to address the situation online. “I wanted to defend myself, but then I thought, ‘What am I defending myself for or against?’” he said. “It’s not like I can tuck the gay back in the closet.”
On Nov. 4, Khalid addressed being outed on the Baby, This Is Keke Palmer podcast and spoke on his plans to reveal his sexuality on his own terms before it happened.
"The thing is, it's like once it happens, you can't turn back. You can't turn around. You can't just like sweep it under the rug and be like, 'Alright, nobody saw that.' So you have to deal with it," he said. "That's all you can do. Life doesn't stop. And I'm for sure not gonna stop mine."
Khalid then expressed his disappointment that people, possibly referring to his ex, “weaponized” how vulnerable he was.
"It's very hurtful. But when I know that what I put out is meant to be genuine. I can't be mad at myself for not having the knowledge. I can't be mad at myself for not having the tools. I can't be mad at myself that I might have stayed so long," Khalid said. "I can't be mad at myself that I might have said, 'Hey,' and might have said, 'Oh, you're cute. Do you want to go on a date to the park?' 'Cause it was honest and it was truthful."
Later on, Khalid expressed how “complicated’ it would have been to come out on his own. "That has to just be introduced," Khalid said. "And I didn't want to put in the effort to showcase my sexuality as much as I wanted to put in the effort to making my music, crafting my music."