Puerto Rican singer/songwriter Tommy Torres opened up about his feelings regarding the LGBT community through social media on Sunday, admitting on Facebook that he was homophobic when he was younger.
In his post, Torres shared a video in which a policeman is proposing marriage to his partner. “Fifteen years ago, my reaction to this video would have been very different,” he wrote. “By the way I was raised, I was a young homophobic, I accept it.”
Top 50 Gay Anthems to Celebrate LGBT Pride Month: Critics’ Picks
Between lines, Torres also admitted that seeing two men holding hands was really uncomfortable for him in the past. “I was in high school and I even made fun of them,” Torres tells Billboard. That changed when he realized several people very close to him were gay, including longtime colleague and friend Ricky Martin. “All my friends help me understand that I was wrong,” Torres says now.
Read his full post below:
15 years ago, my reaction to this video would have been very different. By the way I was raised (and in turn, the way my parents raised …) I was a young homophobic, I accept it. Seeing two men holding hands was enough for me to feel uncomfortable and to start making jokes among friends, in addition to judging and giving reasons why I thought that behavior was wrong, based on what I had been taught.
But there’s a phrase that says: PREJUDICE DOES NOT SURVIVE PROXIMITY. Learning that my best friend since elementary school is gay, my great musical colleague and friend of many years is gay, in addition to getting to know and making close friendships with many gay people has made me see the absurdity of my prejudices. We judge what we don’t know.
Today, I see this video and I do not see gender, orientation or beliefs, all I see is LOVE.
Thanks Michael, Ricky, Waldo, Carlitos, Kany, Jocy, Raymond and all of you who unknowingly have taught me that #loveislove.
Making those thoughts public wasn’t easy. “After I posted it, I said: ‘What did I just do?’” Torres says. “’Homophobic’ is a really strong word, but I think people reacted in a good way,” he adds.
Recently, Torres joined Pepsi Puerto Rico for a campaign called #DiloConPepsi (Say it with Pepsi), in which he has featured a new song in five different genres, and people vote for their favorite one by clicking the emojis assigned to each genre.