The Voice finalist Jeremy Beloate opens up about being bullied for being queer

‘The Voice’ finalist Jeremy Beloate has recently shared his experiences of being bullied during his youth as a queer individual and how he eventually found his community. Speaking to Out Magazine, Beloate explained that he faced bullying during his upbringing. “I grew up being bullied by country guys. When you’re bullied or made to feel othered or whatever, you [put] walls up to protect yourself,” he stated.

Yet, as he mentioned, his time on ‘The Voice’ introduced him to country singers who accepted him warmly. “And when I came to The Voice, [I] immediately started becoming friends with all these people who sing country or from like small towns. The love I felt quickly kind of took my walls down,” he continued.

According to ‘American Songwriter’, Beloate further explained that although some individuals on The Voice did not fully grasp the significance of their shared experience to him, he still valued them greatly. “I had this ego death moment where some of them got eliminated and I cried, I was like, ‘Thank you for making me feel like a brother, like a normal this person’. They were like, ‘What do you mean?’ [And I said]: ‘You don’t get it and you never will. But that’s OK and beautiful.’”

For Beloate, theatre became his true passion. He relocated to New York three years ago to chase a career on Broadway and recently landed the leading role in a new musical by American Idol alum Todrick Hall.

“I grew up singing in church, then I went into the theatre,” Beloate recalled. “I found my community in that and decided after high school, I really wanted to do this.”

Beloate is leveraging his experience on The Voice to advance his career and community. “I have felt so accepted, it’s been beautiful,” he expressed. “I think the show exists, in a way, to try [to] make everybody visible and get to share who they are, and embraces that. The coaches couldn’t be more amazing about that too.”