In honor of LGBT History Month, we were lucky enough to have the chance to speak to the one and only Cyndi Lauper. The iconic singer, songwriter, producer, actress, and activist sat down with us to chat about her upcoming projects, how she feels about activism in a new wave of uprisings for racial justice, and her experiences supporting queer and trans communities from the 80s and 90s to today.
Cyndi Lauper has been a queer icon for the duration of her over 40 year-long career. Since 1983, Lauper has released eleven studio albums, participated in numerous other projects, including writing the score for the Tony award winning musical Kinky Boots, and has sold over 50 million records worldwide, Lauper has also been a tireless advocate for LGBTQ rights for over four decades and co-founded the True Colors United organization to bring awareness to the LGBTQ youth homelessness crisis.
First up, Cyndi told us about her desire for a bejeweled face mask as a COVID precaution, and about her process of working remotely with Tracy Young to produce a new remix of her song “Hope”:
“It's not an easy time for anybody right now. But my friend, Laura, who own’s Screaming Mimi's, is now selling bejeweled face guards. And I think I gotta get me one because it's just going to make me feel better. You know what I'm saying? Sometimes even if you're home alone, you gotta dress up… And you know, now, because of the pandemic, I have learned to use Pro Tools. And if I have a computer with pro tools, I have my mic set up. I got my API, premier. I'm very happy, and I can sing!”
When asked about what gives her hope for the future, Cyndi told us:
“Well, I believe in my country, I believe in the ideals that it was based on… I was so proud of the kids that marched peacefully and it was good trouble. And I was very proud of them… And that gives me hope that there is a clarity of what you see as right and wrong, and they're willing to step up and do the right thing… I'm hopeful that things will change for the better. And I wanted to create some music that people could feel better, and dance, and sing, and feel better. That's why we did that. And of course I'm hopeful for the future. I will never give up. Never.”
When we asked her what she’s doing to celebrate National Coming Out Day this year, she said:
“We’re doing something on TikTok… living as your authentic self is much better than not, and going against who you are. And it's very tough. It's not easy at this time, but we have friends I hope, and some family members that support you, and stand with you. And I stand with you.”
Cyndi also covered some of her time as an activist and the reasons why she wrote the iconic single “True Colors.” Listen to the interview here to find out what Cyndi plans on doing once the pandemic is over, what the oddest TV show on her Netflix queue is, and what a Cyndi Lauper perfume would smell like.
