Mariah Carey backs LGBTQ+ book about a boy who loves… Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey has endorsed a book about a gay kid who loves Mariah Carey/ (Getty/Canva/Waterstones/Scholastic)
Pop royalty Mariah Carey has thrown her weight behind a book about a queer kid who is a big fan of… you guessed it, Mariah Carey.
Glitter Boy, by gay author Ian Eagleton, is a children’s book that tells the story of a young boy who is slowly starting to realise who he is.
In addition to being a huge Mariah Carey fan, he loves dancing, his gay teacher and his new friend Joel – but all of those things are starting to make his dad uncomfortable.
In an emotional post on X/Twitter yesterday (11 April), Eagleton shared an open letter with Carey, explaining how the legendary singer and Christmas herald “changed his life” after he was bullied as a youngster for being gay.
“When I was growing up, being gay was something to be ashamed of and I was bullied terribly for it. There were no LGBTQ+ role models, pioneers or trailblazers who I could look up to,” he wrote.
“That is, until I discovered you, your beautiful voice and your music.”
Eagleton heard Carey’s 1997 hit “Honey” on the radio when he was 11, and immediately went out to buy her the album Daydream.
“It changed my life. You sang about being lonely and lost, hurt and confused, of feeling like an outsider. You also sang about bravery, strength, self-belief, love and never allowing others to take away your light,” Eagleton went on to say.
“It was like you were singing to me, the little kid who was so scared and afraid.”
He added that he was inspired to write Glitter Boy about his experience of growing up after he and his husband adopted a baby boy. He then offered to send her a copy of the book.
Responding to Eagleton’s post, Carey, who released a film and album named Glitter in 2001, revealed she had already got a copy.
“I saw it and I got the book. You are an inspiration. Love you” she wrote on X, alongside three heart emojis.
Glitter Boy refers to Carey’s 2001 musical rom-com Glitter, which follows her as a young singer who rises to stardom after getting into a relationship with a DJ.
Eagleton wrote on social media that it “means the world” to him that Carey had a copy of the book, while her fans – known as Mariah’s Lambs – got emotional seeing how much the superstar means to queer people.
“This is true for so many of us gay/queer men. We all looked up to Mariah and took comfort in her music and lyrics,” one person wrote on social media.
A second said: “You got me feeling emotions @MrEagletonIan, I’m so, so happy for you. And once again the radiant @MariahCarey shows exactly why she is such an ally and such an inspirational goddess.”
While Glitter Boy is Eagleton’s most recent work, he is also the co-author of Nen and the Lonely Fisherman, which won a Polari Prize in 2022.
Glitter Boy is available to buy now.
