In a new Pride special on Facebook Watch, queer R&B star Kehlani opened up about recently coming out as a lesbian and discussed their gender identity in greater detail. “I’m a little bit of she, I’m a little bit of they,” Kehlani declared at the beginning of Pride On! Kehlani & Larray’s Excellent Pride Ride, “but I’m definitely leaning toward floating more in the middle every day.”
The 26-year-old Grammy-nominated singer also spoke candidly about how Javie Young-White, the bisexual father of their two-year-old daughter Adeya Nomi, reacted to her coming out. Kehlani was dating Young-White, a guitarist, at the time of their pregnancy and have continued to co-parent their daughter.
Kehlani called him “super, super, super supportive.” “[We’re] really really close friends,” she said, “and the decision to start a family was really easy for us because we both believed in each other’s ability to be good parents.”
The special as a whole is an explosively queer 21-minute celebration of Pride month. Queer YouTube celebrity Larray joins Kehlani on a ride through the streets of Los Angeles on the “gayest bus in town,” a double decker bus driven by RuPaul’s Drag Race winner Alaska that is practically dripping with Pride paraphernalia. The special includes a whole lot of dancing, cheering, and parading and culminates in a performance of “Honey,” Kehlani’s ode to loving women.
Interspersed amid the musical numbers are important conversations about allyship, coming out, chosen family, and identity.
In one of those discussions, Kehlani spoke about their determination to raise their daughter to be open-minded about the many different types of ways people build families. Kehlani explained that both they and Young-White make sure to mention “mom and mom” and “dad and dad” in scenarios where the phrase “mom and dad” would be used as a default.
In their Facebook special, Kehlani and Larray brought in a bevvy of other stars to celebrate the many ways queer people identify. Singer Hayley Kiyoko, who collaborated with Kehlani on the music video “What I Need,” teaches viewers about the inclusive Progress Pride flag that features stripes for the trans and nonbinary communities, as well as people of color. JoJo Siwa and her mom talked about family acceptance. Laith Ashley, an actor and musician, and Nikita Dragun, the CEO of Dragun Beauty, also joined the musician to speak about transitioning, the complexity of “passing,” and intersectionality.
The special also included a cameo by Larray’s grandmother, Paulette, who he said has always been his biggest ally. Paulette affirmed their decision to raise their daughter to see queer families as the norm. “As long as that child is getting loved, it don’t matter if they got two mommies or two daddies, as long as they have love,” she said.
Kehlani came out publicly as a lesbian in April during a casual conversation with friend Jamie-Lee B., a photographer, on Instagram Live. “You wanna know what’s new about me?” Kehlani said. “I finally know I’m a lesbian!”
The musician later discussed their sexuality further in a TikTok video, where they joked about hoping to surprise their family with their coming out announcement, only to realize they already knew. “I want you to fall on the floor and be like, “Congratulations, we had no idea!” they said. “Everyone’s just like duh. … The fucking closet was glass. So I guess just wanted y’all to know that everyone knew but me.”
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