Mum says she’s proud after daughter came out with help from Harry Styles
Lisa McConnell and her daughter, McKinley, went on the Ellen show to discuss the moment, which went viral earlier this month.
Words: Alastair James; pictures: YouTube
The mother of a girl who came out via the medium of Harry Styles at one of his concerts says she’s very proud of her daughter.
McKinley McConnell and her mum, Lisa, were at a concert as part of Harry’s Love on Tour tour in Milwaukee, in the United States at the beginning of November when the ‘Watermelon Sugar’ singer helped McKinley come out in front of a packed house.
In video footage captured at the event, Harry can be seen reading a sign saying: “My mom is in Section 201. Help me come out??” before proclaiming “Lisa, she’s gay!” to rapturous applause from the rest of the audience.
“A complete surprise”
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Appearing on the Ellen DeGeneres show last week Lisa McKinley says the whole thing had been “a complete surprise” but that she knew Harry was talking to her daughter when he started, but not what it was about.
Her voice faltering slightly, Lisa says she’s proud of her daughter for sharing an “intimate part of her life with an entire venue”, and an artist she loves.
Getting more emotional Lisa continues saying in that moment, “I wanted to touch her so much and just give her a really big hug and tell her that I support her. But I couldn’t.
“So that’s when I blew the kisses.”
Asked about how she feels about everything now McKinley says: “Very overwhelmed. But the actual coming out of it, I feel so relaxed, I feel authentically and true to myself.
“I probably feel the happiest I’ve felt in a long time. I’m so grateful for everything that’s happened.”
Explaining why the two of them were in completely different sections of the audience McKinley says she knew her mum would be more comfortable sat down and had only got her mum’s ticket two days before the event, revealing she hadn’t been planning on coming out this way for very long.
After coming out to her siblings a few months ago and having attended a few of Harry’s concerts, where the singer encourages people to have fun and be themselves, McKinley says it was a “sign to make the sign”.
As the interview draws to a close Ellen celebrates Lisa as the “kind of mum that every child wants” and hands McKinley, who was going to see Harry perform again that evening, a new sign reading: “Me Again! My mom and I went on Ellen. She says Hi! Other than that, no new news.”
Check out the interview below:
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