Joe McElderry ‘glad’ he came out as gay

Joe McElderry, the winner of last years’ X Factor, has revealed he’s glad he came out as gay, to the press, over the summer.

Joe McElderry, the winner of last years’ X Factor, has revealed he’s glad he came out as gay, to the press, over the summer. The singer came out as gay during the Summer following speculation about his sexuality. Although he original stated he was straight – following winning the X Factor – McElderry admitted he was gay following a hacking incident on Twitter. His account on the social networking site was hacked by pranksters who tweeted messages claiming the singer was gay. McElderry later admitted that the Twitter incident was a turning point for him in accepting his sexuality.

“I’m glad I did it,. It wasn’t necessarily a hard decision, because once I realised who I was as a person and how I wanted to talk about it, I managed to deal with it okay and it was pretty plain sailing.” – Joe McElderry speaking to PA

The singer also revealed in the interview with the Press Association that he will perform on The X Factor when the live shows begin. Joe McElderry’s debut album, Wide Awake, will be released on October 25th.