Rebecca Black: She’s Here, She’s Queer, and Ready for Change

When Rebecca Black’s single “Friday” became a viral sensation in 2011, it was for all the wrong reasons. Dubbed as the worst song ever, she endured vicious bullying from her peers and online. Black opened up this year about her struggle with depression following the release of “Friday” and how she felt ashamed of herself. Becoming famous at 13 made Black afraid of the world.

Now 22 years old, the singer has been working to write and release new music that is true to her authentic self. Taking full, creative control, Black is showing listeners just how far she has come as an artist. Additionally, instead of resenting the song that heightened her fame, she has embraced the infamy and made peace with the fact that “Friday” will forever be a part of her life.

OUT FRONT had the opportunity to chat more with Black about breaking away from the “Friday” image, as well as coming out as queer on an episode of the Dating Straight podcast, celebrating Pride while in quarantine, and using her platform to support the Black Lives Matter movement.

Hi, Rebecca! Thank you so much for chatting with me. How are you keeping busy and staying sane during these troubling times?
Oh, God. I mean, over the past few months, I have never experienced anything like this in my life, and I know that many of us can say the same. Even when I have talked to people who are from older generations, they have never really seen anything quite like this and just the complete amalgamation of everything coming to the surface.

You have been very active and vocal about Black Lives Matter and participating in protests. Did you ever think we would still be fighting for justice and equality in 2020?
I don’t even know what the right answer would be. I mean, when you look at the way things have been ignored for the past few centuries and how issues have been drawn out, I think that saying it’s surprising would be an injustice to what the Black community has gone through for the past few years and how so many people, I even look back at myself and say, ‘Gosh, I wish I would have done more.’ All I can do now is say, alright, what can I do? I’m going to do it now; there’s no time to waste. Again, I never could have expected the way that things are turning out, but we are just trying to adjust.

How do you respond when someone says, “All Lives Matter?”
I don’t agree with the movement of ‘All Lives Matter’ because everybody knows that white lives matter. The way we handle things as a society, it’s proven that they matter. But when there is a certain group of people who are constantly being taken advantage of, oppressed, and ignored, and it has happened time and time again, no matter what anyone says. To be treated the way that the Black community is, all lives matter doesn’t really mean anything right now. We have to prove that Black lives matter and make change. Then we can move on from there.

We are essentially seeing history repeat itself. When Stonewall happened in 1969, the LGBTQ community erupted into protests and riots, and now the same is happening with Black Lives Matter, coincidentally during Pride Month.
It’s definitely an important time for the LGBTQ community to step in and be a part of it in every way that they can because, looking back at the history of our Pride and why we are able to celebrate in the ways that we do, that comes from the Black community. That was instigated and pushed to the forefront by the Black community as well.

I think every person in the LGBTQ community should look at themselves and ask what they can do to help. Not to say that the gay community hasn’t gone through, obviously, the massive things that they’ve gone through, but there are still communities that need help, and the gay community also has a long way to go. We are still fighting for our own inclusion, but it is definitely something that we can, on one small strand, relate to, and, I think, use that for good to make sure everybody has a fair chance.

Related article: Todrick Hall Keeps the Spirit of Pride Alive 

What does LGBTQ Pride personally mean to you?
I think Pride means not just being able to accept myself for who I am and not just being able to say that I’m OK wit who I am, but that we as a greater community and that we as individuals can look at ourselves and really celebrate it and feel actual pride within ourselves, not just kind of live like alright, we’re OK.

I think a lot of people in the LGBTQ community can share a certain amount of empathy just in general because of the experiences they’ve had. So, that’s what Pride means to me.

You decided to open up about being queer earlier this year on an episode of the Dating Straight podcast. Why did you feel this was the appropriate time to come out?
I don’t know if I ever felt like there was an appropriate time to come out, and that was part of my struggle with the whole thing. I just kind of decided to stop avoiding the question.

I have never been one to share relationships. At all. So, when I was on the podcast, I had just gone through this breakup, and it came up. Instead of freaking out and being like wait, no, let’s not talk about that, it just kind of happened, and I felt comfortable. I had no idea whether people would even care or not, but I have been very appreciative of the way people have supported me and the way my audience has had my back. I know what a lot of people in my audience are part of the community as well. So, it’s just another way that we can share experiences and relate to each other. This is definitely a side of me that I have not shared much, but it’s exciting. It’s an exciting time in one way to have this be the first Pride month where I get to celebrate more openly, but of course with everything happening, it is unique.

Since several Pride festivals have either been canceled or will be held virtually, how are you going to celebrate and make this year special?
I am going to be involved in a couple of the virtual events, and I think it is still so important for us as a community and for the greater good of everything to celebrate it. It has definitely made me find myself trying to be more creative in the ways that I am doing it and in trying to make it special for myself and my community, but we should also still be having more conversations. I think every day, every Pride event, and every solidarity march that is happening now between the LGBTQ community and the Black Lives Matter community is so important. I am focused on how I can take all of this into my own hands and do what I can to help make it better. We should also be focusing on the legislative aspects, which is also equally important, if not one of the most important parts of Pride and inclusion. Inclusion is a big thing for me, always has been. I think it’s a big thing for Generation Z as a whole, which is awesome. We are seeing more and more of it.

What do you hope to do with your platform to help make queer people more visible?
I am always trying to share my own experiences, as well as uplift and power up other experiences that are in my community. I want to bring on other queer creators or influencers and have them share their experiences and highlight them on my platform. I am always trying to make sure that my education on it is always becoming a bit wider just so that I’m not coming from the same place all the time or becoming stagnant in what I know.

I really am trying to listen as well. It can be super easy as a creator to feel like you have to immediately step on your own soapbox, and I struggle with that too because everybody wants to make sure that they are being a part of it in the best way they can, but I think also listening without being silent necessarily is very important as well.

What are some common misconceptions about queer people?
Hm, I don’t know. I mean, there are so many. There is a lot that we have as a community to work through, and I do not think that we should feel like we necessarily have to prove any of these misconceptions to people. There is obviously still some very backward thinking that many people have against the queer community. I think the queer community is an important thing not just for itself, but can also help provide movement for other as well.

How are things going in terms of your music career? Any upcoming projects we should be on the lookout for?
I have been taking a lot of time these past few months to write, and being an out, queer person really changes the way that you write, at least for me. I don’t feel like I’m hiding some strange secret or anything.

I do have more music that will be coming out once the timing is right and once I kind of have my head underway. But yeah, it’s been awesome. It has definitely kept me moving forward creatively and kept me sane through quarantine and all of this. Being able to write and create just makes everything so much better.

This year marks the ninth anniversary of the song that catapulted you into the public spotlight, “Friday.” What goes through your mind when you hear it now, and do you ever regret doing it?
I’ll never have regrets. I mean, I was just trying to do something fun, and I was lucky enough to even have the opportunity at that age to have a music video and a song. That’s what so many people don’t get. The fact that my mom just supported me and did that was so cool. I have definitely grown up a lot, and I feel the time that’s happened in between, it literally feels like that was another life.

It has been really fun to see the way that people have grown up with that song and how they’ve had fun with it. It has allowed people, even in times like this, to give them a second to breathe or laugh at something. It’s something that I noticed the queer community has kind of had my back on before anybody else. I just appreciate that people are able to have fun with it, and that they are able to look back at it and see the way the thought process is like now in regards to the online community.

How we treat people online has shifted a lot, and there is much more awareness. That is another important part, and it has been really nice for me to see and appreciate everyone’s kindness.

Even though you received a lot of backlash with “Friday” from cyberbullies and music producers saying they would never work with you, that never discouraged you to stop pursuing music?
I just feel like if every single one of us, and everyone’s experience is different, but if everyone stopped doing what they wanted to do because somebody told us to, or a dozen people told us to, then who would be doing anything? That is what I have always kept at my core.

“Friday” obviously does not define who you are. There is so much more. How did you break away from that image?
I just had to grow up, and realized that I have definitive qualities about myself that I could look at and say, ‘Oh that is who I am, and this is how I’ve changed.’ I mean, going from 13 to 22, I know people will look at me and say oh my gosh, you’re so young, which I am, but that is a big change within itself for any person. I hope the majority of people can move past who they were at 13.

I think it came to a point where I realized the faster I tried to run away from that narrative and run away from “Friday,” the faster it chased me and the more uncomfortable I felt by it. As soon as I started reflecting on it and recognizing the fact that it was a fun thing that I did when I was 13, it became a lot easier to talk about. It blew up, and therefore, here I am now.

Are you still putting out episodes of your YouTube series “Blacking Out with Rebecca Black?”
I have. It’s been a bit unprecedented. Obviously, that’s the word of the year. With everything going on right now, I am trying to take things where the time is right, but yeah, I think at some point this month and coming into the summer, there will definitely be some more episodes coming out.

Is there anything else you would like to add before we wrap up?
I hope everybody takes the time to take care of themselves, whatever part of the world or whatever community you are a part of. Once you feel like you are taken care of, take the moment if you can to help somebody else or help another community. Just do what you can because it’s never something that you will regret.

To stay up to date, follow Black on Twitter and Instagram.

*Photos provided by Rebecca Black