A Moment of Pride: David Archuleta says for him, Pride means replacing “shame” with “love”

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David Archuleta came out as a member of the LGBTQ+ community last year, and he’s had a year to think about what Pride Month means to him. For David, it’s a matter of, as he puts it, “replacing shame with love.”

What Pride means to me is actually like a new concept because before, I always felt like ‘Pride’ was something not to be proud of,” he tells ABC Audio. “It was something to avoid.”

He continues, “And as I’ve come to understand better what it means, I feel like it’s not being afraid of what maybe a lot of people in your life have told you to be afraid of, and to be ashamed of … simply being who you are and your sexuality — that it’s ‘different’ from what the ‘norm’ is.”

He adds, “After spending so much time suppressing or hiding this part of you, it’s learning to let it come forward without judging it and without that shame, and replacing it with love. And for me, that is what Pride means.” (AUDIO IS ABC 1-ON-1)

Additionally, David wrote on Instagram this month, “If you’re queer, being queer is beautiful. Let yourself blossom…[I don’t know] what word to use I think queer is a good broad term lol. But I’m not too worried about picking either. I’m letting myself figure myself out with time…But it really is something that is beautiful.”

July 16 through September 3, David — who made a guest appearance last month on the American Idol 20th anniversary special — will be playing the lead role in a production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat in his home state of Utah. Tickets are available now. David also has new music coming soon.

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