Imagine Dragons frontman had to ‘get FBI involved’ after receiving death threats for LGBT+ allyship
Dan Reynolds of Imagine Dragons performs on stage during Rock in Rio 2019 on 6 October 2019 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Photo by Alexandre Schneider/Getty Images)
Imagine Dragons lead vocalist Dan Reynolds has revealed that he had to ‘get the FBI involved’ after receiving death threats for being an outspoken LGBT+ ally.
Reynolds, who has worn an LGBT+ and trans Pride flag on stage numerous times, told Attitude that some people “are not happy” about him being an LGBT+ ally. He shared that he even had to get authorities involved after receiving “weird death threats” for supporting the LGBT+ community.
“I’ve had weird things happen, I’ve had weird death threats,” Reynolds said. “I’ve gotten the FBI involved.”
But he said that he has a “powerful team” who have “taken care of it”. He told Attitude that he is “not a martyr”, but it is the “reality” of being an ally. Reynolds said the “only reason” he mentioned the threats is “so people do understand this is a real problem still”.
“And if you don’t think it is, get involved, and you’ll see,” Reynolds said. “There are a lot of people who are very angry… and in the wrong.”
As part of his commitment to being an ally, Dan Reynolds founded LOVELOUD – a foundation and festival that advocate for LGBT+ youth – in 2017. The foundation has awarded grants to organisations that support queer youth including the Trevor Project, Encircle, the Tegan and Sara Foundation and GLAAD.
He told Attitude that the LGBT+ community are “looking for allies and support” – especially younger people who are “transitioning or have not come out to their families yet”. Reynolds said the community is just “looking for us [allies] to step up”.
“A lot of straight people I meet are like ‘but the pronouns are hard for me…’ It’s not at all, first of all,” Reynolds said.
“Second, the amount of patience from the queer community of… just try! Do the research, make a little effort. My kids can do pronouns!”
Earlier this year, the Imagine Dragons singer donated his childhood home so that it could be converted into an LGBT+ youth centre for advocacy group Encircle. The centre based in the Las Vegas property, which is worth $1 million, will help vulnerable queer youth.
