Free Speech + Other Dirty Words: Melissa Etheridge

**We’re giving away two guitars signed by Melissa Etheridge. Link below to enter. Sweepstakes ends April 4, 2023.**

“‘So…what are we going to do about the gay thing?’”

In the ‘90s, two-time Grammy-winning artist Melissa Etheridge made waves when she publicly came out as gay after struggling with self-censorship during her first three records. In her interview with host Ryan J. Downey, Etheridge recalls this pivotal moment in her career, along with other free speech issues, including Eminem’s homophobic lyrics controversy in the early 2000s and Steve Bannon sharing a platform with her on Sirius XM radio. “Free speech is hard,” Etheridge says.

“Free Speech + Other Dirty Words” is a partnership between the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) and SPIN to showcase iconic artists sharing their stories about freedom of speech, self-expression, and the barriers they crossed to avoid censorship.

Guitar sweepstakes entry info: https://go.thefire.org/free-speech-and-other-dirty-words-Etheridge
Join the movement for free speech: https://www.thefire.org/

0:00 Free Speech + Other Dirty Words
0:56 Growing Up In The 60s And 70s
1:55 Straight Heterosexual Music + Gender-less + Self-censorship
2:57 Island Records + The Gay Thing + Rainbow Flag Waving
4:13 I See It From Both Sides + Eminem + Because That’s Freedom
6:15 Sirius XM + Steve Bannon