Imagine Dragons lead singer Dan Reynolds has shared a message of support for LGBTQ youth, tweeting a photo of himself holding a rainbow flag onstage.
The musician, who is of Mormon faith, wrote: "celebrate our diversity. embrace our LGBTQ youth. to 'accept' does not simply mean to 'love' – it means you give true validity and fully embrace and support diverse sexual orientations and do not see ones sexuality as 'incorrect' or 'sinful'. love is an empty word otherwise."
It's a message close to Reynolds' heart, with the straight singer recently participating in a documentary called Believer, which explores how the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints treats its LGBTIQ+ members.
“One of the reasons I’ve felt such a need to speak out on this is I’ve gotten countless emails and letters from fans around the world who said, ‘I’m gay, but I know you’re Mormon so that probably means you don’t accept my lifestyle, but I love ‘It’s Time’ and your music," Reynolds .He continued: "That was devastating and it broke my heart to get letters like that. I’ve written back to these people to tell them, 'No, I do support you and I’m here for you.' It’s been a driving force for me to raise awareness and make a difference and not just sit back to let people feel that hurt."
The poster for Reynold's HBO documentary, 'Believer'. Source: HBO
The documentary premiered at Sundance earlier this year.