Tyler Childers' Collaborators Explain Why He Featured a Gay Love Story in His 'In Your Love' Music Video
Tyler Childers‘ collaborators are opening up about his latest music video.
Last week, the 32-year-old musician released the video for “In Your Love”, which is set in 1950s Appalachia and chronicles the love story between two male coalminers.
In an interview with Rolling Stone on Tuesday (August 3), the video’s stars Colton Haynes and James Scully, as well as writer Silas House, discussed what it was like working on the project with Tyler.
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“He said he would like to have it be a gay love story, mainly because his first cousin who’s like a brother to him is gay, and he wanted him to see himself in a country music video,” Silas told the outlet. “When he said that, I just thought, ‘So many other people have never seen themselves in a country music video. This would be pretty incredible, to have that kind of representation.’”
“It’s very rare to see LGBT people portrayed in a rural place,” he continued. “The idea is that most LGBT people escape or have to go to the city. And that is true for a lot of people: We have historically sought the safety of cities. There’s strength in numbers. But there are also lots and lots of LGBTQ people who live in rural places, and who live in the South, and who live in Appalachia.”
Silas developed the story with his husband, journalist Kyle Howard. Colton and James were then brought on as Jasper and Matthew, a gay couple whose burgeoning relationship is the central focus of the video.
“I’m from Kansas, a super-small town of 600 people,” Colton said. “This video not only delivers on the story, but also shines a spotlight on a community that really hasn’t had a spotlight shined on it in this genre of music. If I was a kid and seeing something like that, maybe it wouldn’t have been so difficult for me, and maybe it would have made me feel a lot more accepted. That might sound a little corny or grandiose, because it’s a music video, but things like that really do matter.”
“For those kids growing up in those places, it’s like, ‘If I’m so wrong and broken and sick, why is Tyler Childers writing a song about the endurance of my love?’” James added. “In this day and age where everything is so muddied and watered down and confused, Tyler has real, tangible power and desire to heal people and fix things. There’s only, like, six other people I can think of like that right now.”
All three men noted that they were worried about potential pushback that Tyler would receive from people.
“We were texting, and I said, ‘I have to be honest, I was really worried for you,’” Colton recalled. “But people are sticking up for Tyler, basically saying, ‘This is what real outlaw country is.’”
“There has been quite a bit of hatred that’s reared its head in response,” Silas acknowledged. “But what is so wonderful is that the love has far outweighed the hatred.”
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