Omar Apollo had a very suggestive response to a social media user who accused the musician of "queerbaiting."
"Queerbaiting" is a term used to describe a high-profile individual hinting at being LGBTQ+ in order to gain a larger audience.
While male musicians like Harry Styles and Nick Jonas have often been accused of queerbaiting on social media, the form of bullying can have a negative emotional impact on individuals who would rather not publicize their sexuality but are inevitably robbed of their right to come out on their own terms.
Omar Apollo, however, chose to turn his targeted moment into one that enraptured the internet.
When a Twitter user accused him of queerbaiting, saying they didn't support "straight singers" who deceive their gay fans into thinking they're a part of the LGBTQ+ community, the Grammy nominee for best new artist gave a not-so-subtle revelation about his sexual practices in the bedroom.
@omarapollo/Twitter.
To drive the point home about his enjoyment of oral sex, he followed up with specifics.
from the back 💯
— Omar Apollo (@omarapollo) November 29, 2022
a true king pic.twitter.com/nsRhwSrYZV
— Stone Cold FLEET Austin (@mapcus) November 29, 2022
Many of his followers used memes to better express what couldn't be articulated.
See now you got my attention with this one... pic.twitter.com/XhAJC9Hdva
— 🌈Minuswell 🌈 (@Laideo2) November 29, 2022
that’s my boy tho pic.twitter.com/o7PMwH5FhR
— jo!! ✧*:・゚✧ (@fakepatients) November 29, 2022
Yeah I remember
— Stephan (@yourcubano) November 29, 2022
Not from the byyyyke!! 😂 pic.twitter.com/aM7msACrV7
— kelechi (@its_kelechi) November 29, 2022
well… pic.twitter.com/skWk3msJdw
— Worried Darling (@iamdylannoe) November 29, 2022
pic.twitter.com/7mkG86f0Pr
— dev ᴺᴹ (@iambuterastann) November 29, 2022
Users feigning ignornace requested visual aid.
proof?
— Riri 3000 (@BOORlRl) November 29, 2022
proof?
— Riri 3000 (@BOORlRl) November 29, 2022
pic.twitter.com/7mkG86f0Pr
— dev ᴺᴹ (@iambuterastann) November 29, 2022
The clues to his gayness were there all along.
Apollo's debut studio album Ivory is rife with songs sung in Spanish and English that have lyrics with explicit references to men.
For example, the song, "Pretty Boy," features the following lyric:
“Pretty boy, pretty like the ocean and the sky at night / and I fell in you right after we made love on a starry night.”
In April, the singer–who was born to Mexican parents who emigrated from Guadalajara to the US–suggested to NPR he's not one for using labels when it comes to his sexual identity.
In response to being asked whether he prefers to express his queerness through his lyrics instead, the 25-year-old said:
"I don't really care. I feel like in the beginning, I was trying to be mysterious and stuff, but now I'm just like—I'm very gay, so I'm just like, whatever."
"It's funny, every time I'm doing an interview, they're like, 'You don't like to...' I'm like, 'Damn, do I really come off like that?' "
"But no, I'm totally about it. Maybe I was trying to keep the mystique, you understand? But I don't even care anymore."