Dec 25, 2019 at 10:00 pm

Hayley Kiyoko Reflects On Her Allies, Speaking Out & More in 'Them.' Cover Story

Hayley Kiyoko dances around in this shot from her cover story with them. magazine.

Here’s what the 28-year-old musician shared:

On being asked for relationship advice: “Just because I’m gay doesn’t mean that I’m a professional at it. I get flustered. I get nervous and I overthink things, and to be honest, I could count on my fingers how many dates I’ve been on. I’ve never been on the Hinge or the Tinder. I haven’t even done the online dating thing, so I don’t even know what that’s like.”

On backlash to her criticism of Rita Ora’s song “Girls”: “I don’t regret speaking my mind, because for me, I take my sexuality and what I do very seriously, and it’s been really hard to get people to take me seriously… But I also feel like everyone has the right to be who they are, too. It’s difficult to navigate that at times because I do accept everyone and I do support everyone and all artists and who they are and where they are in their lives.”

On the importance of allies, including Taylor Swift: “[Allies] are just as important as people in the community supporting their community because they are taking the time to fight someone else’s fight. I think that exposure and validation goes a very long way no matter where it comes from… I can only speak for myself, but [Taylor Swift] has been very supportive of my music and she doesn’t have to be. It means a lot because she’s letting people know, ‘Hey, she’s gay, but she’s also really cool and normal.’ I’m very grateful for her friendship.”

For more of Hayley‘s interview, head to them.us.

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