Neon Trees singer Tyler Glenn comes out as gay and praises Mormons for ‘tolerance’
The lead singer of Neon Trees, Tyler Glenn, has come out as gay in an upcoming issue of Rolling Stone magazine, saying he was brought up Mormon, and praising the religion for being “tolerant”.
Glenn, who was raised Mormon, spoke in the magazine of his upbringing, the Church of the Latter Day Saint’s support for California’s same-sex marriage ban Prop 8, and being inspired by NFL hopeful Michael Sam to come out.
“We were always taught, and I hate this word, ‘tolerance,'” he says, regarding his church’s stance on homosexuality, which is notoriously fraught. “The only time that felt different was when the Prop 8 thing came up,” he said of Proposition 8, which the Mormon church invested heavily in.
Saying he started coming out to friends and family members last October, Glenn said he was inspired by people such as NFL hopeful Michael Sam to come out.
“I really love all of the sports figures that are coming out recently,” he says. “I appreciated Michael Sam was like, ‘I want to be able to go to the movies and hold hands with my boyfriend.’ Even hearing him say ‘boyfriend,’ I was just like, that’s cool.”
The band has three albums, including the upcoming Pop Psychology.
The new issue of Rolling Stone containing the full interview will be available from 28 March.
