Many people – including us – were very excited to wake up to the news that Dannii Minogue had “come out as queer” during a press conference for new lesbian dating show I Kissed A Girl… but it simply wasn’t true.
Major news sources trumpeted the fact that the pop icon – who is sister to equally dedicated LGBTQ+ ally Kylie Minogue – had “come out as queer”, when in fact she was sharing the fact that she strongly supports and identifies with the queer community: in much the same way as former Glee star Darren Criss, who is straight, explained that he identifies as “culturally queer” in a recent interview.
When quizzed about her feelings towards the contestants on I Kissed A Girl, she responded: “You girls are hot. You know it. I love it. I’m here for it. Is that an answer?” This was then spun into a series of “Dannii Minogue comes out” stories that appeared in The Mirror, The Express, The Telegraph and many more besides.
She’s now taken to Instagram to debunk the claims, clarifying: “I was not making an announcement that I’m a lesbian or queer: I’m straight and in a long-term hetero relationship.”
She also said she didn’t want the recent headlines to “distract” from the launch of lesbian dating show I Kissed A Girl, which will be aired every Sunday and Monday night at 9pm on BBC Three and BBC iPlayer from Sunday 5 May onwards.
The show, which follows the same premise as last year’s hit series I Kissed A Boy, also hosted by the Minogue sister, sees ten single women travel to an Italian Masseria and get paired up. On their first meeting, they have to go straight in for a kiss with their partner – without saying a word.
Speaking at the screening of I Kissed A Girl on 1 May, Minogue said that while the “full focus” right now is on I Kissed A Girl, she suggested that she and the team behind the show are keen to “open doors” and explore future, potential iteration – including a trans and non-binary version of the programme.
Dannii Minogue’s partner
As Dannii Minogue made clear in her Instagram statement, the 52-year-old has been in a relationship with musician Adrian Newman for the past decade.
Newman is a 46-year-old songwriter, and he and Minogue keep their relationship on the downlow, avoiding public scrutiny. In 2018, The Sun quoted the Aussie songstress as saying: “I have a beautiful boyfriend. I never say anything about him. We are super private. I am just in the perfect moment.”