GRETA VAN FLEET Singer JOSH KISZKA Says 'A Huge Weight Was Lifted' After He Came Out As Member Of LGBTQ Community

GRETA VAN FLEET singer Josh Kiszka has told Rolling Stone in a new interview that he was apprehensive about the reaction he might get to his heartfelt Instagram post about the "loving, same-sex relationship" he's been in for eight years. "I was really concerned. I felt like, 'Well, I'm going to have a target on my back,'" he said. "You really feel that way, which is unfortunate, but it's true."

Much to his delight, "Everything had been met with love and acceptance and humility and respect, and that was a huge wave of reassurance that things are moving in the right direction," Kiszka added. "As a performer and as an entertainer, a huge weight was lifted. Because ultimately as an artist or just as a person, we all want to be understood to some degree."

Josh also addressed the fact that during GRETA VAN FLEET's July 24 performance at the Bridgestone Arena in the band's adopted hometown of Nashville, rainbow lights flashed across the stage and the crowd began wildly waving their Pride flags in support of the singer.

"The fact that that many people could communicate and coordinate to make that happen was extraordinary," he said. "It was really difficult for me to keep it together, and this sounds very deep, but the song took on new meaning in that moment. I explained to the audience that I hope that maybe one day it'll be irrelevant when [I'm singing] 'Hate bound by fear will unwind.' When you say words like that, you realize that you're in the middle of a movement."

More than 525 anti-LGBTQ bills have been introduced in 41 states so far in 2023 and more than 75 signed into law.

Most of the anti-LGBTQ policies are concentrated in the southern U.S., including in such states as Texas, Florida, Tennessee, Alabama, South Dakota and Montana.

Tennessee governor Bill Lee in February had signed the bill passed by the state's assembly that aimed to restrict drag performances. The bill restricted "adult cabaret performances" in public or in the presence of children, and banned them from occurring within 1,000 feet of schools, public parks, or places of worship.