He also put out a controversial t-shirt that re-worked neo-Nazi imagery with the rainbow flag. In 2015, he tweeted, “I tried to come out the damn closet like four days ago and no one cared hahahhahaha,” and he rapped, “How can I be homophobic when my boyfriend’s a fag? / And we been hiding in the closet like our passion is fashion, still trying to come out.” He’s referred to himself with gay slurs over the years and has joked-or not joked-about having a thing for freckly white guys. Perhaps he’s simply now introducing a fictional “Flower Boy” persona who makes out with guys.īut if it’s a con, it’s a committed one. The centerpiece of 2015’s Cherry Bomb was an intoxicating/queasy contribution to the pop tradition of lusting after an underage girl. His early albums were wars between different alter-egos: There was a masked maniac who smoked pot and broke stuff there was a murderous cat there was a calm therapist coaching Tyler to get a grip.
