While we're not too far from 2022, the Out100 cover stars from that year have continued to make waves in pop culture in the years that followed.
When 2022 Out100 cover star Hayley Kiyoko began her career, lesbians in pop music were much more niche than they are now. Kiyoko's concerts (along with other artists like Tegan and Sara, Kehlani, and Janelle Monáe) were some of the only places where you could go to a pop concert as a lesbian and be in a crowd surrounded by people like you. Kiyoko was celebrated in her cover story for changing that, and for making her concerts and fandom a heaven for queer fans.
In recent years, artists like Reneé Rapp, Chappell Roan, Fletcher, Dove Cameron, Rina Sawayama, Billie Eilish, and even JoJo Siwa are proudly representing their queerness on stage and in music. Women in pop music are proudly calling themselves lesbians, and a big part of that can be attributed to Kiyoko. It's directly thanks to artists like Kiyoko, who made being a lesbian pop star cool, that modern-day pop concerts exist with dozens of lesbian flags, hundreds of sapphic couples, and female pop stars dancing with female dancers as a common occurrence.
In 2023, Kiyoko teamed up with Steve Aoki and Galantis for the song "Hungry Heart," written about Kiyoko's girlfriend Becca Tilley. That year, Kiyoko also released her first novel, a YA romance named after and based on the music video for her iconic song "Girls Like Girls." The book was on The New York Times Best Seller List for 7 consecutive weeks.
In the year when he was featured on the Out100 cover, Jerrod Carmichael won an Emmy for his comedy special where he came out, Rothaniel, and was nominated for another trophy for guest hosting Saturday Night Live. But he was just getting started.
Since then, Carmichael hosted the 80th Golden Globes, appeared in the Oscar-winning Yorgos Lanthimos film Poor Things, and released his own docuseries, Jerrod Carmichael Reality Show, where he continued to be one of the most interesting provocateurs of our time. Over the course of his career, Carmichael keeps challenging the way we think about dating, friendships, race, and sex — making us all laugh while doing it.
Rafael L. Silva and Ronen Rubinstein gained a massive following in the roles of officer Carlos Reyes and paramedic T.K. Strand on 9-1-1: Lone Star. Together, the actors solidified their on-screen relationship — nicknamed "Tarlos" — as one of TV's hottest couples.
Between getting to know each other better, falling in love, and even getting married, T.K. and Carlos have given us a history-making love story in terms of LGBTQ+ representation on a procedural series airing on a broadcast network.
Other cover stars for the 2022 Out100 were The Old Gays, who are as hot, fun, and lively as ever! In 2023, they even welcomed a fifth member to the group, Joc James A. Anderson. Watching the Old Gays celebrate life and revel in the joy of being themselves is still one of our favorite things to do, and we don't see that changing any time soon!
Out100 Cover Stars: TikTok’s Old Gays Prove Life Starts After 65www.out.com
