Taylor Swift helped kick-start Pride Month by delivering a passionate speech at her concert in Chicago.
The 28-year-old singer, who was in the city's Soldier Field for a gig over the weekend, gave a shout-out to the members of the LGBTQ community for having the courage to be "vulnerable" about their feelings, Billboard reported.
"It's very brave to be vulnerable about your feelings in any situation, but it's even more brave to be honest about your feelings and who you love when you know that it might be met with adversity from society.
"This month and every month I want to send my love and respect to everybody who has been brave enough to be honest about how they feel, to live their lives as they are, as they feel they should be, as they identify," Swift told thousands of her fans in attendance.
The singer said Pride Month needs to be celebrated to mark how the society has progressed but also how the journey is far from over.
"This is a month where I think we need to celebrate how far we've come, but I think we also need to acknowledge how far we have left to go. I want to send my love and respect to everybody who hasn't felt comfortable enough to come out yet...
"And may you do that on your own time and may we end up in a world where everyone can live and love equally and no one has to be afraid to all say how they feel," Swift added.
The "Reputation" hitmaker, who was wearing a rainbow dress for the gig, performed her new song "Delicate" at the event.
"When it comes to feelings and when it comes to love and searching for someone to spend your whole life with... It's all just really, really delicate," she added.
PTI
