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Chely Wright Contemplated Suicide Over Homosexuality

Posted by Irene Lee on 05/06/2010
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Chely Wright held a 9-millimeter gun in her mouth and was close to pulling the trigger when she had second thoughts that led her to put the gun down, the singer told NBC’s Today show. Wright feared losing her Country Music career if her homosexuality became public.
 
"I finally cried. That's what broke the dam for me," said Wright. "I started to cry and put the gun down, and the next morning I was afraid to go downstairs because of that gun. I got on my knees and spoke out loud to God, and I stopped praying for what I had always prayed for, which was 'Help me figure out a way to still have my career and everything.' My prayer was: 'God, give me a moment's peace.' And I got up, and I had that moment's peace."
 
Wright explained that she received a silent message from God that convinced her to finally tell the truth and resulted in her memoir, Like Me: Confessions of a Heartland Country Singer.
 
Until that point, fear of offending the conservative-minded people she says fill the Country music industry kept her from admitting the truth about her sexual orientation. Instead, she always ducked the issue in personal relationships and told the news media that she wouldn't answer questions about her personal life.
 
Even John Rich confronted Wright about her sexuality.
 
"Hey, you've got to hit this gay thing head on," Wright recalled Rich saying. "He asked me point blank, 'You're not gay, are you? If you are, people won't have it. It's sick, it's deviant, it's unacceptable to country music fans ... You're not are you?' And I lied. And I knew that I had gone from not talking about it to being a liar."

 
But now that Chely has come out in People magazine and begun to speak openly about her personal life, her fears have been replaced with feelings of relief.
 
"It feels incredible; I feel as if it's my birthday," she said, adding she is still waiting to see what the full impact of her honesty will be on her life and career. "I am not not afraid. But I'm not ashamed."
 
Source: TheBoot.com