Culture

Mother of recently out former Glee star: ‘I used to be a lesbian’, but my daughter should ‘choose’ to be straight too

Jun 10 2013
Written by Joseph McCormick

The mother of former Glee star Charice Pempengco, who came out as gay in a recent television interview, has said that she “used to be a lesbian”, but that she “chose” to be straight, and that her daughter should do the same.

The vocalist and actress Pempengco, was last week asked by the host of television show The Buzz, Boy Abunda, whether she was gay, to which she responded in Tagalog: “Yes… I am.”

Her mother Racquel Pempengco, has now said: “I used to be a lesbian”. She went on to explain that she “chose” to be straight, after her mother, Tess Relucio, convinced her to start a family.

Racquel then said she married her husband Rick, and the couple had their two children together – Charice and Carl.

Speaking of Charice’s girlfriend, fellow singer Alyssa Quijano, Racquel said: “I could never accept Alyssa.”

At a press conference, Raquel said that a divide had formed between Charice and her family since she came out. She said she thought Charice had turned her back on her family, and that she did not approve the people she hangs out with.

Continuing, she said that Charice needs to be “convinced”, to be straight, in the same way that she was when she was younger.

Racquel and Tess both want Charice to go back and live with her family, said Racquel, saying that she should change her current lifestyle.

Tess said: “Have some sympathy for your mom.”

Responding to the words of her grandmother, Charice simply said: “My lola knows how much I love her, and how much I love my family.”