Kane Brown Says He Experienced ‘Child Abuse’ As A Kid
Kane Brown really opened up to Gayle King during an interview with CBS Mornings this week and revealed that as a child, he was beaten and that music provided him with an escape.
Kane said, “Had to grow up a lot faster than a normal person… Just, you know, moving around a lot. And then no father figure. Child abuse.”
He described in detail one of the incidents of abuse where he said one of his stepdads shaved his head. Brown offered, “One of my stepdads, for my punishment, shaved my head bald and put aftershave on me. Made me, like, physically eat half a bar of soap, not just bite into it. I had to physically eat it and swallow it. So all kinds of crazy things.”
Kane also discussed the first time he dealt with racism in middle school. He told King, “It was, like, my first, like, actual girlfriend. You know, we were on the bus. And she was about to get dropped off, and then she was, like, ‘I can’t talk to you anymore.’ And I was, like, ‘What do you mean?’ And she was, like, ‘My dad said you’re Black.'”
Brown said that moments and others like it have stuck with him his whole life, but when it comes to being a Black country artist, he believes his talent should speak for itself. He said, “I shouldn’t have to say anything, you know? I’m up there in front of everybody as a Black artist. I’m selling out arenas.”
He added, “I’m on the radio. I’m doing all this stuff. Right there should tell you that, you know, country music’s getting better. And people should be opening up.”
His latest single is his most personal one yet, as “Thank God” is a duet he sings with his wife, Katelyn. Kane said his wife was nervous about doing the song, but he knew instantly that the song was going to be a “smash.” Katelyn said doing a duet together has been six years in the making. But the pair felt now was the right time to do it so they could show their two daughters, 10-month-old Kodi Jane and two-year-old Kingsley Rose. Katelynn said, “It’s so different than before. We didn’t have kids. I was, like, ‘How cool for our daughters to one day listen to mom and dad?”
Kane posted about the interview on Twitter, writing, “Tune in 10/19 on @CBSMornings for my interview with @GayleKing.”
Tune in 10/19 on @CBSMornings for my interview with @GayleKing pic.twitter.com/OrTnw8Fhhs
— Kane Brown (@kanebrown) October 18, 2022