Out Magazine Goes All Out For Its 20th Anniversary

On the moment acting took hold of her: "I remember it so vividly. There was this girl who went to my school, and she did a Nikki Giovanni poem, 'Ego Tripping,' and it was just different from everyone else's. It wasn't flat recitation. It had an energy and a life to it. And it made me sit up in my seat, and my eyes got wide, and I really felt inside myself, 'She's making me feel things.' I want to do that."

On how Orange Is the New Black has affected her life: "After the first season, my life definitely changed. But after the second season, I feel like it's changed ten-fold. You have people who are so passionate and touched by my work, which is so humbling. But other times, it's a little overwhelming. If I'm just trying to go to the bodega and get some coconut water, I have to put on a hat and some glasses — those kinds of things."

On her church background: "I grew up in the church. I have seen my parents inspire people and give them hope and faith most of my life . . . I feel like oftentimes in the church people get caught up in literal translations of the Bible. But that's not the home I grew up in. I was just taught that love is the most powerful thing. And being able to see that and see my parents on the forefront of that made such a big impact on my life."

On his explosive rise to fame: "I feel no pressure to live up to anything. I say what I think, act how I want to act, post what I want to post. There's no one telling me to do this, lose weight, look like this, sing like this, write songs like that. I've just been allowed to be me, and from all the nightmares you hear about the industry from a young age, I never thought that would be the case."

On being an openly gay musician: "My aim is to tell people how good it's been for me so that, hopefully, gay men or parents with gay children can look at my story and think, 'Wow, that's how it should be.' That's what we can work towards. That's been my whole motive — to not make it a talking point. My music should be a talking point. My voice should be a talking point."

On his stripped-down candor and vulnerability: "When I was in the studio, I completely forgot in a year's time that my face was going to be plastered around major cities with the word 'lonely' underneath it. When it did happen, it was like, 'Wow, what I'm doing is taking a risk.' Music is about reaching the masses, having a message, getting through to everyone, and trying to make some sort of difference. Music, to me, is that powerful."

On his decision to come out: "One of the most defining conversations that I had with myself was that absolutely no good can come from me staying quiet about [my sexual orientation]."

On his debt to Oscar Wilde: "I have a profound respect and affinity for him. There's something about his uncompromising intelligence and wit, the way he used it as a defense and weapon. He was able to integrate himself into a mainstream society that otherwise would have marginalized him by using the very thing that set him apart."

On the rising number of HIV infections in adolescents: "I think there's a tremendous sense of complacency in the LGBT community. AIDS has lost the edge of horror it possessed when it swept through the world in the '80s. Today's generation sees it more as something to live with and something to be much less fearful of. And that comes with a sense of, dare I say, laziness."

On life after coming out: "You just feel different in the world. Once you've done something that you used to think was impossible, what could ever really scare you again? Even now, press is more enjoyable because I don't have to have certain conversations. For instance, I'm never going to have to have a conversation about a dress, or heels, ever again."

On the expectation to stay in the closet: "No one's ever been so direct as to say, 'You're gay, so we're gonna hide it.' But there's an unspoken thing going on. [People] believe it's the right thing to do for your career. They don't realize it's eroding your soul. It was eventually about me being like, 'Wait, why am I listening to that? At what point did I let those things become important?'"

On her newest project: "It's very direct in showing how discrimination against the LGBT community affects people. There's no getting around the unfairness that happened here, and just how illogical and almost psychopathic it felt. And it's so exciting to get to do a love story with the sex that you actually fall for. I'm thrilled about it."

On the emergence of more and more meaningful, queer-themed projects: "Even if it did become a trend, who cares, right? Let being yourself become a trend."