This is the 5th Anniversary of the first time my documentary Lead With Love was screened publicly, after I had carried around the truth of this story (as well as all of the hot media takes, death threats, and letters of support, from folks who weren’t there) privately for half a decade.
I remember, at the time, feeling like I needed to release this film in order to survive. All the projections, all the misinformation, all the hate, and all the love — it just needed to be informed.
Thank you to Revry for believing in this movie enough to stream it out to over 250 million homes in the years since. And thank you to the people from this film who ultimately took down the hateful Mars Hill Church and ideologies from the inside. It’s been gone for many years now and the world is entirely better for it.
Thank you to everyone who has been streaming the single or pre-ordered the EP since yesterday when Kill Rock Stars announced it! I see you, gays.
And huge thanks to JD Samson, MAN ON MAN, Xiu Xiu, Bright Light Bright Light, and Plack Blague for being part of this with me. I love every single one of you.
Also I used to hide Faith No More CDs in my pants at the back of Camelot Music in the mall because I had to smuggle secular music into our house as a kid, so to have Roddy Bottum on this thing is wild.
If you find my album at a big box store, you absolutely have my permission to put that ish in your underwear and walk out. 🖤
This time of year always makes me think of Malibu Beach and whenever I see these photos from the years I spent in and out of Hollywood, it’s tempting to believe them — but the reality is, those were some of the saddest, loneliest times of my entire life. I look at these beautiful pictures of me now and cringe.
Beachfront mansions and fancy clothes mean nothing without kindness around — and money and fame are useless without love.
