The musician appeared on The Ellen Show and opened up about growing up in a Christian family and coming out.
On April 12, Carlile was invited to Ellen’s talk show to promote her memoir Broken Horses.
The artist told Ellen that she was the first gay person she ever “met” growing up in Washington and she had secretly recorded the host’s infamous sitcom episode, where Ellen’s character came out, in 1997.
Carlile later came out as lesbian, while at high school, in November 2002.
“What you did for me, and people like us, when you came out, was so huge for me in my life,” the star told Ellen.
“You were the first gay person I’d ever met. To me, you were what it meant. And I wasn’t going to stay in the closet after that.”
Carlile humorously admitted she hid the inspiring Ellen episode on a tape titled “David’s baseball game” in disguise of a recording of her then boyfriend’s game. The ruse was a playful effort to make sure her family would not find the tape recording
It said ‘David’s baseball game,’ and it still does and I still have it,” Carlile laughed. The singer brought the tape to the show and asked Ellen to sign it.
The Grammy-winning singer explained how impactful the show had been for her: “I wasn’t going to stay in the closet after that,” she said on the talk show.
Carlile is now married to actress Catherine Shepherd and David has become the father of her two children.
I got to sit w/ Ellen and talk about a story that she is so clearly a part of. Good luck against @jonimitchell in ping pong 🏓 My @TheEllenShow interview airs today! Check your local listings.
Style: Maryam Malakpour Suit: @bella_freud
Makeup: Loren Canby Hair: Pamela Neal pic.twitter.com/Dc5U6Bheun— Brandi Carlile (@brandicarlile) April 12, 2021
During the interview, Carlile also talked about the struggle of growing up queer in a religious environment and how the singer found acceptance in the Grammys.
The critically acclaimed artist has six Grammys to her name and 12 nominations in her career.
The alternative country singer scooped an award at the 2020 Grammys for Crowded Table the Best Country Song category. Carlile has won a Grammy consecutively for the last three years.
Speaking out on her identity as LGBTQ+ person and as an artist, the singer revealed how “cathartic” making music can be.
“As a queer person raised in organized religion and having such a close connection to my faith, and having to come through some trauma around public accountability within my faith, trying to get baptized and not being allowed to, and not being allowed to be involved in the church when I wanted to sing there,” she explained on the show.
“There was something really cathartic about standing up on that stage, accepting those awards and singing that song and feeling like I’ve come to a place where I can look myself in the mirror and go, ‘Okay, you did something.’”
You can watch Carlile’s interview with Ellen here or below.
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