Beartooth’s frontman, Caleb Shomo, has publicly come out as gay.

The announcement was made on Saturday via a social media post, which is shared in full below.

“There’s been a lot of speculation surrounding my personal life as of late and I feel compelled to set the record straight before it affects those I love any further,” Shomo wrote. “I am a proudly gay man.”

“This is something I’ve been unpacking and reckoning with in my life for quite some time now,” he continued. “It’s been difficult to navigate the feelings surrounding the subject and figure out what to do with this fact.”

Shomo’s announcement comes a few months after the release of Beartooth’s “Free,” which received mixed reactions due to its pop elements and a video featuring Shomo in various flashy outfits and makeup. Some fans and fellow musicians mocked the video, with Attila’s frontman Chris Fronzak joking on X (formerly Twitter), “Looks like Caleb Shomo dropped the ‘S.'” He later apologized for the homophobic comment.

Other rock musicians, including Disturbed’s David Draiman, praised Shomo for his self-expression, comparing him to rock legends of the past. “Bowie, Mercury, and so many others took rock to a level only few dared to go, and did it with power, class, and grace,” Draiman said. “I have watched Caleb Shomo, the singer of Beartooth, become one of the most formidable young frontmen in rock. The song is great, the video is great, and the band is firing on all cylinders.”

Following the backlash from “Free,” Shomo deleted his personal Instagram account but returned to the platform earlier this month.

Last week, Beartooth released another song titled “Pure Ecstasy,” which is the title track from their upcoming album set to arrive on August 28. They will support the album with a headlining U.S. tour beginning in November.

Read Caleb Shomo’s Coming Out Announcement

Here is the full text of Shomo’s coming out announcement:

There’s been a lot of speculation surrounding my personal life as of late and I feel compelled to set the record straight before it affects those I love any further.

I am a proudly gay man.

This is something I’ve been unpacking and reckoning with in my life for quite some time now. It’s been difficult to navigate the feelings surrounding the subject and figure out what to do with this fact.

When it comes to my art / Beartooth, I have always strived to chase who I am in the deepest part of my soul from album to album. As you could gather if you’ve followed the band at all in the earlier years, there are four very self-deprecating albums about exploring my religious upbringing, depression, self-hatred, self-loathing, and hopelessness. I am grateful for all these albums yet feel embarrassed at times that I wouldn’t allow myself to really dig up the roots for so long.

I spent a decade burying feelings with alcohol, and honestly when I decided to put it down and focus on exploring why I felt this way for so long, it’s been a direct path to me reconciling with my sexuality in hopes that it will eventually lead to me experiencing self-love. One thing I decided before I wrote a single note of the upcoming album is that whatever happens, I will express myself wholeheartedly and fully. Wherever it takes me I will follow and I refuse to water any part of it down, from the music to the lyrical content and how I portray myself. I will only do what makes me happy at the deepest level and what is the most honest depiction of who I am. I believe it’s impossible to love every part of you when you won’t face every part of you head-on. I am trying to finally be proud of who I am and I think this is a massive part of that journey.

To those who have shown me love, empowerment through living life freely and openly in my presence, supporting the queer community or simply telling me you love me whoever I am, I am forever in your debt and I hope you know what you mean to me.

I encourage anyone who’s struggling with who they are to give yourself grace. Give yourself patience. Be honest with yourself. Do the hard work instead of burying it down as deep as you physically can thinking it will change like I did. Holding these things in only hurt you and those around you.

Love you all, and hopefully this is a step in the right direction to loving myself one day.

– Caleb Shomo

See other LGBTQIA+ rock and metal icons in our gallery below: