Will Young says ‘shame’ over sexuality led to porn and alcohol addiction
The singer also attacked the UK government’s approach to sexual education in schools.
Will Young says he became addicted to alcohol, sex, porn and shopping as he struggled to cope with the “shame” of his sexuality.
The Pop Idol winner also admitted to taking drugs – saying they helped him in “masking and aiding a huge void”.
Speaking at National Student Pride 2016, Young said: “I was a love addict, I still am an addict, addicted to porn, certainly addicted to alcohol.
“I’d never been on a date without having at least two drinks before I’d left the house and I didn’t even notice that was a problem.
“Drugs I didn’t really get into. I toyed around with it, but it didn’t really stick with me so much.”
Since coming out at the age of 21, Young – who recently featured a trans man in one of his music videos – says he has suffered “17 years of shame”.
“I will keep coming back to shame because it’s such a fundamental thing,” he explained.
“Until I conquered it I just kept having sex to fill the void, watching porn, shopping, anything, and I think we are told that as soon as we come out everything will be OK, but it’s just not the case.”
“It is different being a young LGBT person because if you are heterosexual you are not dealing with a huge backlog of sexual shame and shame of your identity.”
The Jealousy singer is now campaigning to get lessons on sexuality taught to children from a younger age – but says he came away from a meeting with Secretary of State for Education Nicky Morgan “incredibly disappointed.”
“The problem with homophobic language is that in schools it is simply not being addressed,” he said.
“My prime focus now is young LGBT rights and I think what lies beneath that is people just don’t think it’s an issue.”
“What I’ve noticed in witnessing statistics is there is a huge void where the government is not focusing on nurturing young LGBT people in schools.
“We are basically all different and we cannot be the same,” he added.
“So to promote difference in schools would just allow everyone to grow up more accepting and loving.”
