TJ Osborne Responds After Tennessee Lawmakers Block His Honor As Gay Singer – iHeartRadio

TJ Osborne is not happy after Tennessee lawmakers blocked the passage of a state resolution to honor him.

As per the measure, the singer, 36, is the “first and currently only openly gay artist signed to a major country music label.” Osborne, who came out as gay in February, was also referred to as “a trailblazer and a symbol of hope for those country music artists and fans alike who may have felt ostracized from a genre they hold dear.”

Earlier this week, Jeremy Faison used his power as the chair of the House Republican Caucus to block the resolution after it was passed unanimously in the state Senate. “We have some concerns on this SJR, and I’d like to send it back to naming and designating,” he said in a video via The Tennessee Holler. Pressed on about “the source of those concerns,” he said, “it wasn’t heard in committee, and I feel like it needs to be.” 63 representative voted in favor of sending the measure back to a committee and the responses from several country titans were heard loud and clear.

First up, TJ retweeted the clip via the Brothers Osborne‘s official Twitter account, writing, “We’ve lived in this state for over half of our lives. @JeremyFaison4TN honored Ben Shapiro who doesn’t even live here. Jeremy, let’s have lunch one day. On us. Would really like to know more about you as a person.”

“I wish I could say this didn’t hurt, but it does,” Osborne continued via Instagram Story, reposting a message of support from Maren Morris. Kacey Musgraves also chimed in, writing, “Massively disappointed in TN House Republicans for blocking my friend @TJOsborne for being honored because HE’S GAY!?”

Later on, Faison tried to play nice, tweeting, “I would be honored to break bread with you,” to Brothers Osborne. “We’ll message you directly, @JeremyFaison4TN,” the account replied.

Osborne came out in an interview with TIME, revealing that he’s known that he was gay since he was young and has been out to friends and family for years. “I’m very comfortable being gay,” he said. “I find myself being guarded for not wanting to talk about something that I personally don’t have a problem with. That feels so strange.”