Union J star Jaymi Hensley: Times have changed and girls fantasise about One Direction being gay
Union J member Jaymi Hensley has said in an interview that he thinks “times have changed”, as girls now fantasise about One Direction being gay.
Hensley, 23, made the comments in an interview with Metro. He also said that he thought his coming out had made no negative impact on the group’s sales.
He said:Ā “Look at the One Direction fan fiction ā theyāre fantasising about One Direction having gay affairs with each other. Times have changed. I havenāt read it but it sounds hilarious. Girls are fantasising about them being gay when theyāre not; in the past, the situation was completely opposite.”
Continuing, he said:Ā “Me coming out has had no negative effect on our band at all. Weāve got a record deal and songs in the charts. If anything, itās helped form a connection with fans. The fact Iāve been able to achieve this while being true to who I am might inspire other gay kids ā it doesnāt matter what you look like or who you love, you can do whatever you want in life.”
He said he came out when he was 14:Ā “I came out to my friends and family when I was 14. Everyone on The X Factor knew I was gay. I came out during the middle of the series in a newspaper interview. It was easy.
“I didnāt want to be that person who lied to establish their career, waited years and then got Ā£20,000 for selling their story to a paper ā thatās what it looks like to gay kids. Why didnāt you come out ten years ago? What was your problem?
“I remember when Will Young came out. I was gay, he was gay and I loved his music because when I listened to it, I could imagine him singing it to a man. Itās like that with Frank Ocean ā it means something to me. Girls have this fantasy of meeting someone from a boy band but I never had that. Why shouldnāt I be out so gay kids can have those same emotions attached to a boy band?”
On homophobia bullying, he said: “If someone calls me a derogatory name on Twitter, I challenge it. If I let people call me a āfagā, how am I helping my fans feel empowered? When I was younger, I used to be called āpoofā and āfagā and it made me feel awful ā itās not nice to have abusive words used against you.
“Iām now in a place where you can call me whatever, it doesnāt annoy me but I will stick up for people. Donāt let people give you s*** ā thatās what I stand for. Donāt let people bully you.”
Hensley, after Union J placed fourth in the X Factor competition, followed the advice of his mentor Louis Walsh and revealed that he is gay, and has a long term boyfriend, back in November.Ā āIām gay and Iāve never been happier!ā, he said.
