Country Singer T.J. Osborne Reflects on His Coming Out Experience

After publicly coming out as gay earlier this week, country music star and Brothers Osborne singer T.J. Osborne is reflecting on the entire experience and how he finally able to acknowledge and speak his truth to the world.

During a virtual appearance on Ellen DeGeneres' daytime talk show on Thursday, the two chatted about what it's like declaring your identity to the world, and how amazing and wild the whole process can be.

"I'm trying not to cry on national television right now," Osborne told Ellen DeGeneres. "It has been a really wild experience to have come out to very few people," then go "to kind of come out publicly in one big fell swoop, which was in some ways nice."

"Straight people don't ever have to shove something down and say and all of a sudden say to someone, 'I'm straight,'" Ellen added, relating back to her own history-making public coming out experience back in 1997. 

"Through my insecurities, I maybe built it up to be a bigger hurdle than it was the whole time," T.J. continued, speaking on how he was only out to a few friends and family in recent years and how he had to stay stuck in the closet for the sake of his career in country music. "The perfect time is always now...I wish I had done this a long time ago."

"You're going to help a whole lot of people," Ellen reassured him. "You're a huge role model now."

Watch T.J.'s full interview with Ellen in the video below!