JUDAS PRIEST's ROB HALFORD Speaks Out Against Body Shaming

In a new interview with "A Gay And A Nongay Podcast", JUDAS PRIEST singer Rob Halford, who came out more than 20 years ago, was asked what advice he had for for gay men and women who feel like they don't fit common gay stereotypes. He said (see video below): "I think that the whole body shaming and imaging is just as prevalent in the straight world as it is in the gay world. You always have to have somebody with a six-pack on [on the cover of] a gay mag, and that's wrong. You always have to have some beautiful, slim, gorgeous woman on [the cover of] a straight magazine or whatever. It's just mad that we're still at that place. Just push by that, 'cause it's fluff — it really is fluff. It has no relevance whatsoever.

"If you're a person who wants to keep fit — and I've got some really fit straight friends — I admire that; I admire your conviction to doing these great things for yourself and for your body, because it does have a knock-on effect," he continued. "But in terms of the level of it being superficial and not really, really being important, yeah, we need to look at that differently. And over the years, it's gotten a little better, for girls who are plus size, for example, and there's a whole broader acceptance, as there should be.

"Look, this is your body. Be proud of it. Be proud of the way you look, the way you are, 'cause you're a beautiful person. It's not what the outside is about; it's the inside that matters — [what you have] in your heart and in your mind.

"I'm all for pushing back at that kind of theory," Halford added. "And especially over here [in the U.S.]. I mean, you look at some of the newscasters; they're like movies stars — they've gotta look like a movie star. And I'm, like, 'What is that all about?' So it varies from place to place."

Rob is continuing to promote his recently released autobiography, "Confess". In the book, Halford discusses in detail what it was like becoming the first metal icon to announce he is gay in 1998 during an MTV interview, despite knowing about his sexuality since he was 10. Although his bandmates and their management knew he was gay and were accepting, he was advised to be discreet given the macho hetero nature of the metal world. He also opens up about surviving sexual abuse, as well as his struggles with depression, substance abuse, sobriety, and the suicide of one of his former partners. He also talks about how his own suicide attempt in 1986 led him to the rehab program that saved his life.

"Confess" arrived on September 29 via Hachette Books. It was written with Ian Gittins, co-writer of "The Heroin Diaries" by Nikki Sixx. In the book, Halford revealed that he knew he was gay during a time when gay men were "full-on persecuted" in his native United Kingdom. He came out to his parents three years later.

"God made me this way," he told People. "This was placed inside of me. This is who I am."