HOLLYWOOD, Calif. — Singer Michael Stipe has come out of the closet.
The R.E.M. frontman made the revelation in a new interview with Spin magazine.
"It was super complicated for me in the '80s," Stipe reveals to Spin. "I was totally open with the band and my family and my friends and certainly the people I was sleeping with. I thought it was pretty obvious."
The 48-year-old Georgia native has long avoided questions about his sexual orientation and says he only now understands how publicly speaking on the topic can help.
Says Stipe: "I'd just never felt strongly enough about a particular relationship to say, 'Yeah, he's my boyfriend, that is what it is.'
"Now I recognize that to have public figures be very open about their sexuality helps some kid somewhere out there."
R.E.M. played at the recently concluded South by Southwest Music Festival in Austin, Texas. The band's latest album, "Accelerate," is due to be released on April 1.
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