‘They were trying to get me to say I was gay… it drove me crazy’: Missy Higgins reveals how the media’s attempt to ‘out’ her made her retreat from public life
Missy Higgins, 35, has slammed Australian media for trying to ‘out’ her as a lesbian during the early days of her career.
The singer, who topped the charts with her hit Scar back in 2004, first set tongues wagging about her sexuality when she told Rolling Stone magazine in 2005 that ‘everyone is a bit bisexual.’
Speaking to Sunday Life about her frustration, Missy candidly said the media’s fascination with her sexuality led to her retreat from public life.
‘They were trying to get me to say I was gay…It drove me crazy’: Missy Higgins reveals how the media’s attempt to ‘out’ her made her retreat from public life. Pictured here in 2008
‘For so many years, the media was trying to get me to say I was gay,’ she said.
‘Except I didn’t feel that I was. It drove me crazy.’
Missy said she felt a lot of pressure at the time to identify as something she wasn’t.
Candid: ‘The media were pushing me for an answer but I couldn’t give them the headline they wanted. That’s a big reason I retreated,’ Missy revealed in the interview
‘The media were pushing me for an answer but I couldn’t give them the headline they wanted. That’s a big reason I retreated,’ she said.
Missy took a sabbatical from the spotlight after the release of 2004’s The Sound of White, only to re-enter the charts with her 2007 follow-up, On A Clear Night.
In the soul-baring interview she went on to say that it was a conversation with fellow musician Ben Lee that helped her come to terms with it.
The musician told her it was ‘ok not to know’ with her saying it was a ‘revelation’- admitting it was rare for people to publicly say they were figuring it out.
Moving on: Missy went on to marry comedian Dan Lee in 2016, with the couple sharing two children: Samuel, 3, and Luna, born in August last year. (All pictured)
She confirmed to Australian lesbian magazine Cherrie that she was fluid back in 2007, which helped to end the rampant speculation.
‘I think sexuality is a fluid thing and it’s becoming increasingly more acceptable to admit that you’re that way,’ she said at the time.
Missy went on to release The Ol’ Razzle Dazzle in 2012, which she followed-up with Oz in 2014.
Spotlight: Usually private Missy spoke about her relationship with Dan, adding the couple get along so well because it’s ok for them not to be their best self all the time
She met Broome comedian Dan Lee, with the pair finding lasting love and tying-the-knot back in March 2016.
The talented musician gave birth to a son Samuel Arrow Lee in 2015, and a daughter named Luna in August last year.
Elsewhere in the article, Missy speaks about her relationship with Dan and how it’s ok to not be your best self all the time.
The happily married musician goes on to say the couple allow each other to have their ups-and-downs.
Read more: Missy appears in the latest issue of Sunday Life magazine