COUNTRY SINGER COMES OUT

Following much speculation, US country singer Chely Wright has been revealed as the celebrity who was rumoured to be coming out this week.

Last month, top Hollywood publicist Howard Bragman announced that he was managing the coming out of a then- un-named celebrity in the media. Yesterday, it was confirmed that the star in question is the 39 year old Kansas born performer, said to be the first country singer in the US to ever come out.

In an interview in the latest issue of People Magazine, Wright revealed that she contemplated suicide while grappling with her sexuality.

“I was looking at myself in a mirror… as I was about to do it. I just looked at myself and something snapped and I started to cry… and I realised I have too much to live for,” she told the magazine.

Wright noted that she was aware that she could put her career at risk by taking the bold step: “I may lose my career in country music, that will break my heart, but it’s okay. I have a lot of different pieces of my heart that matter and that’s what I’ve come to learn,” she said.

“In coming out, Chely Wright offers country music fans a tremendous opportunity to better understand our community and the importance of conversations that move us toward lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality,” commented Jarrett Barrios, President of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation.

Wright released her debut album in 1994 and received an American Country Music award for Top New Female Vocalist that year. Her 1999 single Single White Female reached number one in the US country charts.

She releases her memoir Like Me, and a new album, titled Lifted Off The Ground, this week.