Singer Omar Apollo shuts down queerbaiting claims by clarifying: ‘I be sucking d**k’
Omar Apollo recently used Twitter to casually remind people of his queerness. (Getty/Twitter)
American singer-songwriter Omar Apollo has hit back at queerbaiting claims by reminding people that he is, in fact, queer.
The singer first responded to a tweet asking if he was in his “bi era” by saying “don’t do that” but soon followed up with a more comprehensive response.
He called out a tweet which read: “Is Omar Apollo another queerbaiting singer? Like those type ‘I don’t label myself let me wear cropped and paint my nails and i say i find another guy hot’. Cause I like his song but I don’t like supporting straight men doing queerbating.”
Apollo simply replied: “No i b sucking dick fr” followed by “from the back” with the 100 emoji.
Although Omar Apollo doesn’t label his sexuality he has been open about his queerness for a long time, with many songs from his album Ivory about his relationships with men.
“I’d rather just make music and talk about what I want to talk about,” he told The Guardian in April. “I’ve heard [homophobic] s**t in my hometown for sure. Growing up people called me slurs.
“But on the internet people are very open. I’ve never seen anything bad about the gay love songs.”
Although Apollo has never been explicit about his dating life, he’s been linked to Frank Ocean, and many believe that songs on Ivory are about him.
The theory started after fans began comparing photos the two had uploaded to social media, concluding they had been on vacation together in Italy.
In april, Like A Virgin podcast co-host Fran Tirado shared a story about Ocean and Apollo dating for up to three years.
“So, when I was driving late at night back from a Coachella party, I was driving home [with] two friends of friends that are from Mexico and they work in the music industry. One of them was friends with Omar Apollo, so we were talking about this new album [Ivory],” Tirado said.
“And I was saying, ‘It feels really Frank Ocean-y to me.’ Half of it is very acoustic-y, kind of. Like John Mayer-ish, like, ‘feel good’ vibes. And then some of it gets a little Latin music. And then the rest sounds like Frank Ocean.
“And I was like, ‘Well, it sounds a lot like Frank Ocean.’ And the guy looks at me and he goes, ‘You know they used to date, right’ They dated for three years and they broke up and this album, Ivory, is all about Frank.”
Fans have delighted in Apollo’s direct response to the queerbaiting claims.
One fan wrote: “The way you could have Googled ‘is Omar Apollo gay’ and saved yourself 986 quote tweets.”
Another added: “Omar Apollo frequently sings about men, dances fruity as f**k, is literally a TWINK, and people are still confused about his sexuality??????”
Others pointed out how tiring the discourse is around accusing artists of queerbaiting, saying: “Feel like a lot of younger people are veering dangerously into ‘men shouldn’t be feminine unless they’re queer.'”
Apollo also took to his Instagram to poke fun at those accusing him of queerbaiting by reposting a photo of him with two women, with the caption: “On my straight s**t last night.”
Apollo is the latest celebrity to be targeted with accusations of queerbaiting, including Billie Eilish, Harry Styles and Bad Bunny.
However, as shown with Heartstopper‘s Kit Connor who was forced to come out on Twitter after relentless accusations of queerbaiting, the discourse has become extremely harmful.
