The Life And Lies Of Gerard Way

Chapter eight: Pride and prejudice

With everybody in the band back on board again, My Chemical Romance started tracking songs for the first time in three years. While being back in the studio felt new for a band that had been out on tour for quite some time, they were all excited about their new material and wrote like never before. Gerard’s lyrics were notably happier and more hopeful than they had ever been, despite all that had happened.

“I think I was writing about Frankie again,” he admits with a tiny smile. “I was just so happy to get to spend time with him, we were having so much fun in the studio and we were always joking around and being stupid and flirty with each other and I just couldn’t contain myself. I needed an outlet for all that I was feeling and as usual, I launched into song because that was all I knew of doing. I just let it all flow out into songs, all the angst, the pining, the frustration and the pride in being in love.”

And though Gerard hadn’t intended it to be that way, ‘pride’ really became a theme for the entire record. And the first single, ‘Walk This World (With Pride)’, flat out became an anthem for the LGBT community all around the world, and especially for the gay kids in the band’s fanbase. With lyrics such as “Hold your head up high / Cast all their hate aside / Be stronger and together we will / Walk this world with pride” and “Just take my hand and make a stand / For what it’s worth you will be heard / ‘Cause you deserve / To walk this world with pride” the song was soon being played at gay clubs and Pride festivals all over the world.

"I was in love with a guy," Gerard explains, "and I had come to consider myself a part of the gay community, though I wasn't out of the closet. And there were always these kids at our shows everywhere, holding hands with someone of the same gender and I just wanted them to feel safe with us. 'Walk This World' really wrote itself, and it was for all the kids out there that needed some hope."

Though the song was immediately taken to heart by the band's fanbase, some people found it strange to see such an obvious anti-homophobia message come from a band that had always claimed themselves as heterosexuals. Gerard was deeply offended by these opinions, and wrote a speech that he presented online in a video on My Chemical Romance’s website in October, 2019.

“Our anti-homophobia stance has always been a huge part of My Chemical Romance,” he said in the speech, “and we are not ashamed of that. We will support our gay fans until the day we die, and we believe in equal rights for everyone.”

And after twenty minutes of pointing out exactly what made My Chemical Romance say no to homophobia, Gerard wrapped up the speech with a wink and a playful “… and I sure as hell have never considered myself heterosexual, so I don’t know where you guys got that from.”

You can imagine the chaos that followed. Gerard laughs when I mention it.

“Yeah,” he grins, “that started a bit of a commotion, I guess. People weren’t ready to hear that, I think, and since there were already rumors out there that I had written love songs about my guitarist people started to assume things. I felt really bad for Lindsey, because paparazzi were always pestering her with questions about whether or not I was having an affair, if she had ever felt threatened by my sexuality, you know, shit like that… And it was hard for her, because she obviously knew a lot more than what she was allowed to tell everyone, and since she’s a very honest person she struggled to keep quiet.”

The band was ultimately also affected, and they had to actually stop doing interviews for a while in late 2019 because the questions regarding Gerard’s (and the others’) sexuality became too hard to handle. The fans reacted well to the whole thing, on the other hand; they were mostly proud of Gerard for standing up for himself and for gay people everywhere, and as word spread ‘Walk This World’ soon topped not only the Billboard chart, but also a number of other charts all around the world. By the time My Chem was ready to release their record in early 2020, they were already booked to perform on the main stage at the Los Angeles Pride parade that spring.