TJ Osborne has said he is “hurt” after Republicans blocked a resolution commending him for coming out as gay.
The Brothers Osborne singer came out as gay in an interview with TIME magazine in February, leading the Tennessee legislature to honour him as a “role model”.
The state senate unanimously passed a motion that heaped praise on TJ Osborne for making the brave decision to be “publicly forthcoming about such an integral, heretofore muted part of his identity”.
The resolution also described Osborne as a “trailblazer”, noting that he is the first openly gay country music artist signed to a major country music label.
While the resolution sailed through Tennessee’s senate, Republican politician Jeremy Faison intervened, using his power as House Republican Caucus to block its passage.
In a video shared by The Tennessee Holler, Faison said he had “some concerns” about the resolution and said it “needs to be” heard in committee stages.
Following his intervention, 63 representatives voted to send the resolution back to a committee that is “closed for the year”, the Holler reported.
On his Instagram Stories, Osborne admitted that he was hurt by the furore.
“I wish I could say that this didn’t hurt, but it does,” he wrote.
TJ Osborne plans to have lunch with Republican Jeremy Faison
The official Brothers Osborne Twitter account also hit out at the decision, writing: “We’ve lived in this state for over half of our lives. Jeremy Faison honoured Ben Shapiro who doesn’t even live here,” they wrote, tagging Faison in the post.
“Jeremy, let’s have lunch one day. On us. Would really like to know more about you as a person.”
Faison replied to the Brothers Osborne, saying: “I would be honoured to break bread with you,” while the brothers promised to message him directly to set something up.
The decision to send the resolution back to committee stage has been roundly condemned by others in the music industry.
Kacey Musgraves tweeted that she was “massively disappointed” in Tennessee House Republicans for “blocking my friend TJ Osborne for being honoured because HE’S GAY!?”
Opening up about his decision to come out on CBS’ This Morning in March, Osborne said he felt “stuck in second gear” before telling the world about his sexuality.
He also used the opportunity to encourage other queer people in the closet to take a leap of faith and open up to their loved ones.
“I would say just to encourage anyone else out there who’s dealing with the same thing… it’s a hard thing to describe, it’s a very difficult thing to go through.
“And I even had a lot of support around me. But once I finally came out… I didn’t really understand the magnitude of how much people cared about me, loved me and supported me,” he said.
