The singer is beloved by the community | Photo: Flickr/lindsay neilson photos
Ariana Grande wrote a loving and touching letter to the LGBTQ community and all her fans for Pride month.
The sweet words come courtesy of Billboard’s second annual Love Letters project. Every day, they’re releasing a new letter from a pop culture artist.
Grande had the honor of being this year’s first letter and it’s sure to warm hearts all around, from her fans and beyond.
‘There is nothing more infectious than the joy and love that the LGBTQ community exudes,’ she begins.
Then the singer talks about her gay older brother, Frankie, and the way she idolized him. She also explains how drag queens taught her to do her make-up (the best way to learn, clearly).
Read her full letter
There is nothing more infectious than the joy and love that the LGBTQ community exudes. I grew up with a gay brother whose every move I would emulate. I idolized him. Everything Frankie did, I would do. I can’t remember a difference between Frankie before he came out and Frankie after he came out. He’s always just been Frankie. Sexuality and gender were never topics my family and I were afraid to discuss. When Frankie came out my surprisingly unfazed (for his age) grandfather said “Congrats! Can we go to dinner now? I’m fuckin’ hungry.”
I was taught to do my makeup by queens in gay bars in New York City. I made my Broadway debut at 14 years old and did 8 shows a week but there was never a night I was too tired to run to a gay bar and do a quick Whitney cover before bed.
My music being embraced and celebrated by the LGBTQ community is all I ever truly cared about when I thought about my career goals early on. There’s no award I could win or accolade I could receive that would fulfill me more than seeing a 6-foot queen with a 4-foot ponytail walk into my meet n greet and say ‘hey girl’ or meeting a young queer person at Starbucks and them letting me know that my music has helped them become who they are. Literally nothing.
Love is like music. It knows no boundaries and isn’t exclusive to any one gender, sexuality, race, religion, age or creed. It’s a freedom and a delicious luxury that all people should be able to sink into and enjoy every moment of.
I am eternally indebted to and inspired by the LGBTQ community. I hope to create anthems for you that wrap you up with comfort and make you get your best life for as long as I live. Thank you for celebrating me the way I celebrate you.
I love you forever.
A longtime ally
Grande has long been an ally to the LGBTQ community.
She frequently works with LGBTQ artists, like Troye Sivan on his upcoming album.
Last year, she suffered one of the most heartbreaking tragedies when her concert in Manchester, England was bombed. The suicide bomber killed 22 people and injured 59 others, some of whom were gay.
She has continually expressed love and support for the community and her fans since then.
You can read last year’s letters and this year’s as they’re published here.
