Kristin Chenoweth says country music is 'becoming more open' to LGBTQ inclusion
'It's so changed,' the Broadway actress says
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Kristin Chenoweth is excited for what's to come in the country music world.
The 51-year-old actress and singer discussed the industry's past, present, and future while chatting with Missouri's KCTV Channel 5 ahead of the Concert for Love and Acceptance, which she co-hosted with Ty Herndon and CMT's Cody Alan on Tuesday.
The concert was presented by Herndon's Foundation for Love and Acceptance in partnership with CMT, ACM's Lifting Lives and GLAAD.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}During the interview, Chenoweth, 51, discussed the importance of inclusion of the LGBTQ community in music, specifically in the country genre.
Kristin Chenoweth arrives at the NBCUniversal Television Critics Association summer press tour, in Beverly Hills, Calif. (AP)
"It's so changed," Chenoweth told the outlet. "Country music is slowly changing me. They might not always agree with this, especially with this community, but they're becoming more open."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Chenoweth went on to commend artists like Tanya Tucker, who opened the show, as well as Herdon, who is gay.
"These young artists are going to have a different time because of people like Ty and Chely Wright who had the guts to come out as who they are as their authentic selves, so country music is changing," she added.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Herndon, also present for the on-air interview, said that he remembers being a 12-year-old kid sitting at home watching the Country Music Awards and "dreaming of being on that stage one day" but feeling "different" because of his sexuality.
Herndon said his "hope" for kids and adults is that they know "somebody cares."
Last December, Chenoweth sat down with "Fox & Friends" to discuss her Christmas special and she opened up about her support for the LGBTQ community.
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"I'm a Christian person and I never thought that was different or interesting at all until I moved to New York and started understanding that there are a lot of people with a lot of faiths," said Chenoweth.
"It's been an interesting journey being in show business and being a Christian," the Broadway star admitted. "I'm an LGBTQ activist and sometimes that doesn't always go together, you know? But, I just keep trying to say, 'What would Jesus do?' And that's the way I live my life."