Hank Williams Jr.’s Son, Sam Williams, Comes Out As Gay

Country singer Sam Williams has come out as gay.

In an episode of Apple Music's Proud Radio with Hunter Kelly, Williams detailed the inspiration behind his new Tilted Crown music video, which chronicles his upbringing as Hank Williams Jr.'s son and sees him kiss another man — his boyfriend — on camera for the first time.

He told host Hunter Kelly, "I identify as gay, and I've never said that to anybody else. I mean, people at my label know and people in my personal life know, but this is the first time that I've ever been, besides a show or two, that I've ever been this public about it. And it is scary, but it feels good."

When director duo Alexa and Stephen Kinigopoulos were conceptualising the Tilted Crown music video, they felt it was important to include a gay kiss to tell the story of his life.

"At first I kind of thought that, 'I'm tackling something else with this.' And I thought that maybe that's for another project," Williams told PEOPLE. "But again, I felt like I was promoting invisibility, like I wasn't being visible and wasn't being myself. And I just thought it was the perfect opportunity to just show who I was."

Williams was originally reluctant to get into the music industry. He even considered a career in politics and spent two-and-a-half years at University studying business, before leaving to focus on his music, releasing the singles Darkwater (2016), The Lost Grandchild’s Plea (2018) and Gemini (2019). In 2020, he released a cover of Weatherman, as well as SHUTEYE and The World: Alone, a song he wrote in honour of his late sister Katie Williams.

In 2021, Williams released his debut album Glasshouse Children, which includes collaborations with Keith Urban and Dolly Parton. He followed that up with the 2022 deluxe edition, Glasshouse Children: Tilted Crown which includes six additional tracks including Tilted Crown.

Regarding Glasshouse Children: Tilted Crown, Williams said, “I felt some of the songs that didn’t make Glasshouse Children deserved their shine, while also wanting to provide new music before a second LP. Tilted Crown tells a little more story and lets the listener in just that much more.”

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