’People took advantage’
Coeur de Pirate reflects on coming out as queer and dealing with public criticism
Indie pop singer Coeur de Pirate received a harsh reminder about the perils of public life when she came out as queer nearly two years ago. Between the nasty messages posted on internet forums and articles that carried some judgment, the musician saw an intended moment of solidarity with the LGBTQ community turned into an ugly fiasco by some outsiders. But the Quebec performer, born Beatrice Martin, doesn’t regret speaking out for herself. She only regrets the feelings that some threw back at her.
“Some people don’t feel the need to do it; I kind of did,” the 28-yearold singer said before the June 1 release of her new album. “People really took advantage of it.”
Martin also sets the record straight, saying that while she’s written about being queer, she specifically identifies as “pansexual,” meaning her attraction toward people isn’t limited by sex or gender-identity boundaries.
Her past relationship with Laura Jane Grace, the transgender frontwoman of punk band Against Me!, became tabloid fodder.
“It was horrible,” she said. “I was showing that I was an accepting person and I was open to everything — and I am. I’m happy about everything and people are just destroying me for it, which shows we still have a long way to come. But it was rough.”
On Couer de Pirate’s new French-language album, En cas de tempete, ce jardin sera ferme (or In case of a storm, this garden will be closed), she comes to terms with the tumult of the past few years, which included a separation from her husband and writer’s block.
“I didn’t manage myself properly,” the singer said. “I got sick a lot, I was very tired and I took on all the responsibilities of producing the show myself, so the financial responsibilities were huge.”
Coming home, she felt exhausted and wasn’t able to focus on writing new songs. She started turning to bottles of wine. “Drinking heavily ... just drowning in rosé,” she said. “I was numbing myself to everything that happened to me over the past few years.
“I stopped and I thought, ‘OK I have to quit drinking. Maybe that’ll help.’ And it did. It completely did.”