Overview
- Caleb Shomo posted that “I am a proudly gay man” on social media on Saturday, May 23, publicly confirming months of speculation about his personal life.
- Shomo said he spent a decade using alcohol to bury feelings and that stopping drinking helped him begin to reconcile his sexuality and pursue self-love.
- Hours after his announcement, his wife Fleur Shomo published a statement expressing support while saying their nearly 14-year marriage is ended and describing recent months as disorienting and hurtful.
- The coming-out follows online backlash to Beartooth’s March single and video “Free,” which featured a more flamboyant look and led Shomo to briefly step away from social media; some peers and fans responded with criticism and some, like Chris Fronzak, later issued apologies.
- Beartooth plans to release its sixth album, Pure Ecstasy, on August 28 through Fearless Records, and Shomo says he will use that record to express himself more fully, a development likely to shape future fan and industry reactions.