Lesbian icon Melissa Etheridge shares sweet moment late son ‘came out’ as straight
Melissa Etheridge and her late son Beckett (Getty Images)
Lesbian singer-songwriter Melissa Etheridge recently shared a sweet story of when her late son broke the news that he was straight when he was 11 years old.
Appearing on The Kelly Clarkson Show on 8 April, Etheridge was reminded of the moment between herself and her eldest son, Beckett, while talking about her autobiographical song ‘Tomboy’.
“When he was about 11, he came to me, he goes, ‘Mom, I’m sorry, but I think I’m straight.’ I tried to tell him it was a phase, but, you know,” Etheridge joked to laughter from the audience.
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Etheridge made headlines when she came out as a lesbian in 1993 at the Triangle Ball, a queer-themed celebration of President Bill Clinton’s first inauguration.
The singer is a mother of four but lost her son Beckett, whom she had with director Julie Cypher, in 2020 when he was just 21 years old.
Etheridge wrote the song ‘Call You’, which is featured on her 2026 album Rise, as a way of processing her grief around his death and finding a new outlook on life.
Speaking more on ‘Tomboy’ on The Kelly Clarkson Show, Etheridge explained what inspired her to write it. “It’s funny how you never think that children’s toys are so male- and female-oriented, but it’s not so much anymore.”
She continued: “I wanted to take that term ‘tomboy’ back, because I didn’t know if it was derogatory when I was a kid and I wasn’t sure. So I’m like, I’m going to say no, this is power.”
Host Kelly Clarkson also shared a story surrounding her own son, 10-year-old Remy, who was concerned that somebody told him he couldn’t paint his nails. “And I was like, ‘You can do whatever you want,’” Clarkson said.
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