Imagine Dragons members say they aren't 'righteous warriors' for waving rainbow pride flags onstage: 'Everybody deserves the right to feel included'
- Insider spoke to the members of Imagine Dragons about their new Hulu documentary, out Friday.
- The concert doc shows Dan Reynolds waving a rainbow flag and Ben McKee rocking trans pride colors.
Last September, during a sold-out show at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Imagine Dragons was in the middle of playing "It's Time" — one of the band's many instantly recognizable hits — when Dan Reynolds spotted a fan in the crowd with the progress pride flag.
Without hestitation, Reynolds hoisted the flag into the air as he walked down the runway, belting the serendipitous lyrics: "I'm just the same as I was / Now don't you understand? / That I'm never changing who I am."
It's a standout moment in the band's new Hulu documentary, "Imagine Dragons Live In Vegas," out Friday. The concert doc was largely filmed during the band's special homecoming show, the culmination of their meteoric rise to stardom over the past decade.
But it wasn't the first time Reynolds showed support for the LGBTQ+ community on stage, and it wouldn't be the last.
"We care deeply about human rights, basic human rights, about the ability to love who you want," Reynolds tells Insider. "Some of us grew up with religious backgrounds where we witnessed a lot of hate, a lot of bigotry. And I think we are looking to just take that responsibility seriously and do our best to contribute love to the world, to have a voice for those who don't get to be on a stage."
Reynolds grew up Mormon, and he's long been open about his journey to reconcile the church's anti-gay doctrine with his own support for gay rights. In 2017, he launched the inaugural LoveLoud Fest in Salt Lake City, Utah, as a fundraising event for LGBTQ+ organizations. It raised $1 million in its second year.
Justin Tranter, a queer musician who cowrote the Imagine Dragons anthem "Believer," has praised Reynolds as "the definition of an ally" and a true friend to the queer community.
"We've done very little," Reynolds demurs. "I want to make it clear. It's not like we're these righteous warriors looking to be heroic. We've done very little, but we've been given a lot. And so we take it seriously to take the extreme amount of luck that we have been given, and to do it right, to do the universe, and to try to de-stigmatize and give back."
Still, it's no small thing to see explicit allyship from one of the biggest artists in the world, especially as anti-LGBTQ+ legislation has been on the rise in the US.
Each member of the band has made a point to be inclusive in their electrifying live performances — particularly bassist Ben McKee, who often plays a guitar with the colors of the trans pride flag.
"Everybody deserves the right to feel included," he tells Insider. "And it just seemed like I had the opportunity to bring some symbols of that love and inclusion into the performance."
Unlike Reynolds, McKee says he was raised with the understanding that queerness was a natural part of life, which bleeds into his art today.
"Growing up, I never had a Christmas or Thanksgiving where there wasn't a same-sex couple at the table that I grew up loving," he says. "I never knew it was something different than what other people were experiencing."
"I want everybody that comes to our shows to be able to feel like they are represented by our music and to be able to see something that makes them feel welcome," McKee adds. "Imagine Dragons shows are a safe place for everyone."