KATSEYE’s Lara has accepted an award from Los Angeles LGBT Centre after coming out as queer, and delivered a touching speech about her coming out journey.
The singer, who is one-sixth of the HYBE x Geffen global girl group KATSEYE, came out publicly in March by telling her fans she is “half fruitcake” after opening up to her friends and family at the age of 14.
On Saturday (17 May), Lara accepted the LA LGBT Centre’s Blooming Impact Award during the second annual Golden Hour: A Queer AANHPI Night Market, which celebrates the intersectionality between queer identity and Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander heritage.
Taking to the stage to accept the honour alongside some of her bandmates, Megan, Sophia and Yoon-chae, Lara opened up about her coming out experience. “Growing up, I dealt with a lot of complexity and fear understanding my queerness and being able to voice it out loud.
@pinknews KATSEYE’s Lara has opened up about recently coming out as queer whilst accepting the LA LGBT Centre’s Blooming Impact Award on May 17th. After being presented the award by her fellow KATSEYE members, the pop icon spoke about being proud of her queerness and how coming out to the public was “such a beautiful experience.” Lara came out in March 2025, telling fans she is “half fruitcake.” #katseye #katseyelara #lararajagopalan #comingout #queertiktok #lgbtqia
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She continued, “I just want to say to all of you that are living your truth now, I understand how much courage it takes, and I see your bravery. I know what it’s like to be very afraid and live in that fear, but now that I’m older and I understand it, I want you to know that I will continue to speak up for us as a Brown queer girl.”
The star also spoke about the support of her fans after she came out. “I was really scared, honestly, about how this would affect [the way] people would see me, people’s support of me and the group as KATSEYE,” she admitted.
“I was met with so much love and support, and it was such a beautiful experience and it honestly helped me feel more comfortable within my queerness,” she recalled.
It’s a pivotal moment for the K-pop community in particular, as LGBTQ+ representation is still taboo in South Korea. Lara’s coming out is still a rarity in the genre, where homosexuality is legal but same-sex marriages are not recognised and discrimination there has been described by the Human Rights Watch as “pervasive”.
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