Max Ernst's love letter to the LGBTQ community

This Pride Month, Billboard asked artists to write a series of love letters to their LGBTQ fans, highlighting what the community means to them as people and as artists. Below, his Max Ernst SHAED he shares his story and thanks the community for “being my family.”

In 2008, the idea of ​​coming out to my all-boys Catholic high school was unthinkable. Imagine a bunch of 14-year-old weirdo hyper-masculine bros throwing around the word f–got like it was a contest to see who could say it the most times in a sentence (I'll admit I wanted to be like them and as far as I knew, I had fooled them all).

As you can imagine, it wasn't easy coming to terms with my sexuality and sharing that truth with my friends and family. The first person I told was my twin brother, Spencer, on a late night drive in Richmond. I was 19. Before the word “gay” left my mouth, I was so visibly nervous that he thought I might do something horrible, like kill someone. I could tell he was about to help me bury the body, but as I explained to him that I was attracted to men, the sense of relief was palpable to both of us… “Dude, take a deep breath — it's okay.”

Then I told my best friend (and our singer), Chelsea, who embraced me with such compassion and understanding that I wished I had confided in her years ago. After that, it became easier to get in touch with family, friends, acquaintances and the world.

Of course, none of this would have been easy without the unwavering love and support from those closest to me. I realize that too many of us in the LGBTQIA+ community do not have a supportive environment at home. The warm embrace I received from my family and close friends when I came out is the same love I see running so deep in our community. Thank you for being my family.

Love,
Maximum