Beartooth frontman Caleb Shomo has described facing sustained homophobia after publicly coming out as gay and filing for divorce from his wife of 14 years.
The 33-year-old musician spoke about the backlash during an appearance on The Break Down with Nath & Johnny podcast, saying he had resolved not to suppress his identity or alter his appearance for other people.
“I had already decided, like, I’m not gonna water myself down at all,” Shomo said. “I’m going to just do what I wanna do. I’m gonna wear what I wanna wear. I’m gonna sing how I wanna sing.”
He added that he wanted to enjoy the freedom to present himself honestly as an artist, but said that decision had provoked a hostile response from some sections of the public.
“That was met with a lot of opposition and a lot of… I mean, really, just a lot of homophobia,” he said. “A lot of people who really were not okay with me presenting that way at all, with what I was doing, any of it.”
Shomo announced in May that he was a “proudly gay man”, telling his Instagram followers that he had been “unpacking and reckoning with” his sexuality for some time.
His announcement came amid speculation about his personal life and followed the end of his marriage to Fleur Shomo, whom he married in 2012. The couple jointly filed for divorce in Los Angeles in July and do not have children.
Fleur later expressed her support for the singer while acknowledging the pain caused by the separation, describing the experience as “disorientating and hurtful”.
Shomo said the reaction to his coming out came during an already difficult period, prompting him to step away from social media for a time.
“I was going through so much,” he said, explaining that he chose to “get off the internet for a while”.
The singer was also attempting to maintain his professional commitments while Beartooth appeared on Bad Omens’ Do You Feel Love? tour. He said performing each night required him to summon energy despite feeling emotionally overwhelmed.
“A lot of the day I’d be spent in a really, really bad place and just trying to find enough energy and enough will to get myself warmed up and get on that stage and do my f**king job,” he said.
Shomo said the abuse had not stopped, with vocal opposition continuing as Beartooth released more music.
“Me coming out didn’t help that,” he said. “And just being honest with people about who I am and what’s been going on.”
Caleb Shomo says new music will address his experiences
The musician said he had more personal material to confront as he worked on Beartooth’s next project.
He previously said the band’s earlier albums drew on his religious upbringing, depression, self-hatred, self-loathing and feelings of hopelessness. Shomo has now vowed to express himself “wholeheartedly and fully” in his forthcoming music.
“There’s a lot that I need to say,” he told the podcast, adding that he still had plenty to “work through”.
