Sawyer Fredericks, the blues singer-songwriter who won season 8 of The Voice at just the age of 16 under coach Pharrell Williams, has shared his truth.
Fredericks came out as bisexual in a statement shared on Instagram earlier in the week, writing that he'll "probably lose some fans over this post, but that's fine with me."
"It is time for my #Truthfultuesday," Fredericks began his post. "Since I have not publicly said this in a post, I wanted say that I am Bisexual 😊 When I was younger I thought I was straight, because I was more attracted to women, and I didn't know there were more options besides Gay and Straight. So I just assumed I was Straight."
Fredericks continued, "I am privileged and have never been discriminated against for my sexuality or ashamed of it. I'm truly sorry for any of you who have been, and I hope it gets better 💙 I'll probably lose some fans over this post, but that's fine with me."
A fan favorite since his debut, Fredericks was crowned the winner of season 8 of the NBC singing competition series in 2015, besting runner-ups Meghan Linsey, Joshua Davis, and Koryn Hawthorne and becoming the show's youngest male champion.
Last October, the Connecticut native, now 22, looked back at his time on the series with fondness during an interview with CT Insider.
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"I always explain that it was like a really good boot camp for learning so many things about the music industry," Fredericks said. "One of the things that I really liked about The Voice was getting to be around all these other musicians and hearing different types of styles. That definitely developed me as an artist."
"Over time, I was figuring out that not only am I progressing, I'm getting better and better at guitar playing and working with other artists and hearing different sounds," he continued. "I'm honing what I know I like and don't like. I think my music has progressed after all these experiences I've been through."
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