Khalid has addressed allegations made by his ex, Hugo Almonte, and the emotional fallout that led to his unplanned coming out via social media.
In a video shared on social media on Monday (Nov. 25), the R&B singer expressed his frustration and pain over the claims and the public’s reaction, saying, “I feel like it’s important to speak my side of the situation.”
“All of this is definitely frustrating,” Khalid said. “I’m not gonna run around like I’m unbothered. I never said I was unbothered by anything. This is very bothering. … I had to say something.”
As reported by Rolling Stone, the outing that Khalid referred to came from a series of since-deleted tweets from X user and recording artist Hugo Almonte. After writing that a “gay R&B singer” had once “tried to set me up and lie that I broke into his house,” as well as claiming he served him “pink cocaine”, Almonte shared a since-deleted photo of himself and Khalid.
Khalid has now firmly denied the accusations. “I’ve never done cocaine a day in my life,” he said in the video, “For real.” adding that he never “never paid anyone for sex” or to be “be in a relationship”.
“I’m trying to watch my tone now… The last time I talked to this guy was four years ago. This is all random, I don’t know why he did it, and I don’t know what’s going on with him. Mental health is real, but I haven’t even had a conversation or seen this dude in four years.”
He went on to say accused anybody publicly of breaking into his house, and the only people who knew about a breaking were his close circle.
“Nobody knew because I don’t want everybody in my business,” Khalid added.
“Seeing the few comments of people painting me as if I’m just some manipulative abuser, it’s just crazy to me… Regarding the stories of the abuse, it’s triggering because it’s the other way around, and that’s what hurts.”
He added, “That’s what hurts the most.”
The situation escalated when Almonte’s posts, which included photos of himself with Khalid, effectively outed the artist. In response, Khalid confirmed his sexuality on X last week, writing, “🏳️🌈!!! there yall go. next topic please lol… I got outted and the world still continues to turn.” He added, “I am not ashamed of my sexuality! In reality, it ain’t nobody’s business! But I am okay with me.”
In a statement given to Rolling Stone last week, Almonte claimed that he had wanted to “share how he tried to use his power to silence me because I simply ended our relationship,” and said he received death threats from many accusing him of “chasing clout” with his claims. “I was holding onto this for five years, and I finally had enough.”
Khalid’s debut single, “Location” from 201,6 spent 5 weeks at No. 1 on the Hot R&B Songs chart and reached number 16 on the Hot 100. His debut album American Teen dominated the Top R&B Albums chart for 16 weeks, and his second album Free Spirit debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 in 2019.
