Christian Chavez is fully embracing his queer identity onstage — and using his platform to slam Texas’ anti-LGBTQ laws. On Friday, during Mexican pop group RBD’s reunion tour opener in El Paso, Texas, Chavez — who is openly gay and from the state — slammed Gov. Greg Abbott and the recent anti-LGBTQ policies he has signed into law during an emotional segment of the show.
“We’re in a really difficult moment in the U.S., especially in Texas,” he told the El Paso crowd in Spanish as large screens displayed an image of the Pride progress flag. “If you know someone from the LGBTQ community — a friend, a sibling, a parent, a child — it’s time to stand together. No one will separate us. No one will silence us.”
“Love yourself for who you are. Love your child for who they are. We’re perfect — God made us this way,” he said, before ending his speech: “Sorry Greg Abbott, it’s not gonna happen.”
Friday’s show in El Paso comes at the start of the Soy Rebelde reunion tour for RBD — the Mexican pop group comprising Chavez, Christopher von Uckermann, Maite Perroni, Dulce María, and Anahí — which reunited earlier this year after 15 years.
During his speech, Chavez thanked RBD fans for “being there for me” when he was forced to come out in 2007 after being blackmailed by a tabloid that had acquired photos of his wedding to a now ex-partner. “I’m excited to shine as a genderfluid, queer person onstage,” he told Rolling Stone earlier this year. “While in RBD, I was fighting to be myself, to love how I wanted to love.”
Before coming out, Chavez denied his LGBTQ identity because he was afraid of how it could affect his career. “I love to see how people don’t have to go through what I did,” he said earlier this year. “I love seeing how new generations don’t care what other people think.”
Republican Gov. Abbott has pushed for intense anti-LGBTQ legislation over the last several years. In June, he passed an anti-drag law in the state, categorizing drag shows as “sexually oriented performers.” The measure is set to take place on Sept. 1 and prevents minors from watching drag shows by imposing up to $10,000 fines on businesses.
Also in June, Abbott signed a bill that banned gender-affirming care for non-binary and transgender youth, despite such measures being opposed to by the American Medical Association, and other health leaders.
RBD continue their stadium and arena tour Sunday with a stop in Houston, before making their way to cities such as New York, Las Vegas, Rio de Janeiro, Mexico City, and São Paulo.