Earlier this week, Jaden Smith dropped an absolute bombshell during his performance at Flog Gnaw Carnival. In the middle of the LA show on Monday, Smith addressed rapper Tyler, The Creator - who was watching from the audience.
"I just wanna say Tyler, The Creator is the best friend in the world," he said to the crowd. "And I love him so f**king much, and I wanna tell you guys something."
"I wanna tell you, Tyler doesn’t wanna say, but Tyler is my motherf**king boyfriend. And he's been my motherf**king boyfriend my entire life.
"Tyler, The Creator is my mother f**king boyfriend, it's true!"
This, as you would expect, surprised many of the fans gathered that day. When he said those words, whether they were genuine or simply a joke, Tyler was seen shaking his head, mouthing "no" and laughing.
Smith later reiterated what he said on twitter, where he wrote: "Yup @tylerthecreator I Told Everyone You Can’t Deny It Now" - a tweet that was later deleted. Tyler later replied to say "hahaha you a crazy n**** man."
While Jaden has never spoken publicly about his sexuality, it has been a focus for many of Tyler's fans over the years. From jokes, such as when he said that he would "100% would go gay for ’96 Leonardo DiCaprio," to more straight-forward comments, such as the 2015 interview in which he claimed he was "gay as f**k," he has avoided giving a serious statement on the matter, like his friend and frequent collaborator Frank Ocean did in 2012.
There have been plenty of other signs though, including the tweet in which Tyler claimed he "tried to come out" but "no one cared".
Tyler's 2017 album Flower Boy made a few references to his sexuality, including the line from 'I Ain't Got Time', where he raps: "Next line will have ’em like, “Whoa” / I’ve been kissing white boys since 2004".
There are other potential allusions to this throughout the album, leading to many wanting to ask him about this subtext.
Earlier this year, Eminem was called out by some for homophobic language used on his title track from Kamikaze, in a line where he takes aim at Tyler. While he was criticised for this language, others quickly pointed out that Tyler's music isn't exactly free of this kind of language.
Most notably, in his 2011 album 'Goblin' he used the term "f****t" numerous times, as well as including other similar comments.
Whatever the speculation, Tyler seems to like to keep this side of his life separate from his public persona. Speaking to Fantastic Man recently, the rapper spoke about his sexuality and his fans interest in his personal life:
"It's still such a grey with people, which is cool with me.
"Even though I’m considered loud and out there, I’m private. Which is a weird dichotomy."
While Tyler has already replied to Jaden's comments, it's unlikely he'll be addressing them much further even if Smith is being genuine - given how Tyler tends to stay quiet about this part of his life.
