Chely Wright: Wish Me Away

Chely Wright at the Tennessee Performing Arts Center, 2010

When you're in hiding, you have nowhere to turn because nobody knows your secret, and when you're in pain, you can't reach out to anybody. . . .

I have a network now, whereas before I didn't have anybody. And that is the beautiful benefit of living in the light.

Country star Chely Wright came out - on the Today Show - last year, the first major country artist to do so.  Now a documentary about her journey out of the closet is winning awards at LGBT film festivals across the country, including San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Nashville.

Boys, I can't tell you how fucking brave this gal is; you guys living the easy life up there in the blue state wonderland have no idea what kind of balls it took for her to come out to everybody and his brother down here in Bibleland. As a friend of Chely's says in the film:  "There's nobody quite as mean as people being mean for Jesus."  I tell you what.

Chely now lives in New York City and is getting married on August 20 to LGBT activist Lauren Blitzer. The documentary will be released this fall. Some clips:





Chely tells the story of an interview on a country radio station:




You can order an autographed copy of Chely's autobiography, Like Me, at her official website.