Vampire Weekend’s Rostam Batmanglij opens up about decision to tell fans he is gay

Vampire Weekend keyboardist Rostam Batmanglij has discussed the moment he decided to tell the public he is gay to mark National Coming Out Day, which took place on Sunday (October 11).

Batmanglij first talked about his sexual orientation in a Rolling Stone feature during 2009. He says that his courage to do so was bolstered by the actions of Grizzly Bear frontman Ed Droste, who had long been ‘out’.

Uploading a photograph of himself and Droste from 2009, Batmanglij wrote in a caption: “I met Ed when our bands were both playing a festival somewhere in Europe earlier that year. At that point I was out to friends and family but not out yet in press.”

“Ed was someone who had always been out… Having him as a friend bolstered my courage to come out in press – something I had always intended to do.”

He added: “Looking back on things, it felt so important to have ‘reasons’ to come out. But in fact, what I’d really like to do is to work towards living in a world where people don’t feel they need ‘reasons’ to come out. And I think in the last six years I’ve felt this change in the world around me and I hope to feel more of it.”

See the Instagram post below.

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Here is a pic of me and @edroste from 2009. I met Ed when our bands were both playing a festival somewhere in Europe earlier that year. At that point I was out to friends and family but not out yet in press. Ed was someone who had always been out. Before I ever heard Grizzly Bear's music I had read a super-candid interview w him in Butt Magazine. I was like, "who is this guy, he JDGAF!" (And that is still true to this day.) But Ed's candor inspired me. Having him as a friend bolstered my courage to come out in press—something I had always intended to do. In October of 2009 Josh Eells profiled VW for Rolling Stone; it was the first time someone wanted to write an article about our lives. And it was also the first time someone had been able to hear Diplomat's Son from Contra, —a song I had started on my own w the intention of telling a gay story. The timing felt right and I felt I could trust Josh, so in a phone interview with him I talked about being gay with a journalist for the first time. The album and the article wouldn't come out for another two and a half months and I'm pretty sure this picture was taken somewhere in that period. It was a strange time in my life. looking back on things, it felt so important to have 'reasons' to come out. but in fact, what I'd really like to do is to work towards living in a world where people don't feel they need 'reasons' to come out. and I think in the last six years I've felt this change in the world around me and I hope to feel more of it. all of which is to say #happycomingoutday

A post shared by Rostam Batmanglij (@matsor) on Oct 11, 2015 at 11:44pm PDT