The truth may set you free, but in Caleb Shomo's case, it can also come at a cost.
The Beartooth singer, who made headlines after coming out as gay to his longtime wife, reflected on the backlash he faced after making the revelation in an interview on "The Break Down with Nath & Johnny," released Thursday, Aug. 27.
"I mean, a lot of the day I'd be in a really, really bad place," said Shomo, whose band was on tour amid his coming out. "Just trying to find enough energy and enough will to get myself warmed up and get on that stage and do my … job."
Shomo, who was married to wife Fleur Shomo since 2012, came out in a social media post in May. Fleur addressed the news in her own Instagram statement at the time, writing that it had been a "very disorienting
and hurtful" period for both of them but that she "will always want to love, protect and support Caleb."
Shomo also channeled the emotional difficulties of coming out in his music. Many of the songs on Beartooth's latest album, "Pure Ecstasy," are inspired by the singer's journey with his sexuality, including the defiant lead single "Free."
"I had already decided, like, I'm not going to water myself down at all. I'm going to just do what I want to do," Shomo, 33, said on "The Break Down with Nath & Johnny." "I'm going to wear what I want to wear. I'm going to sing how I want to sing. I'm going to look how I want to look and just enjoy being an artist that's allowed to do that."
However, Shomo said his liberated self-expression was "met with a lot of opposition."
"Just a lot of homophobia and a lot of people who really were not OK with me presenting that way at all, with what I was doing, any of it," Shomo said. "It didn't really change as we kept releasing more songs, and the very vocal opposition continued and still continues. And me coming out didn't help that, and just being honest with people about who I am and what's been going on."
Two months after his coming out, Shomo and his estranged wife Fleur filed for divorce in Los Angeles court, bringing their 14-year marriage to a close, according to court documents previously obtained by USA TODAY.
The rock singer said he's been turning to his musical work as he continues to navigate public scrutiny.
"The truth is I have no idea how it's going to go," Shomo said. "I'm trying, as of right now, to just keep my focus very narrow. I'm trying to keep my focus on training for tour, on knowing that, whether people show up or not to these shows, I'm going to give them the best show that I possibly can. And I'm working on a new record. And I have a lot that I need to say and a lot that I need to process and work through, and that's the only way I can do it."
Contributing: Anthony Robledo and Brendan Morrow, USA TODAY
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Beartooth singer Caleb Shomo faced 'a lot of homophobia' after coming out
