Since winning the Best New Artist award at the 2014 BET Awards, August Alsina has made more headlines due to his private life than his musical exploits. Alsina more or less broke the internet when he revealed his relationship with Jada Pinkett Smith, Will Smith’s wife.
August has arguably topped the Pinkett Smith revelation by seemingly admitting he is a member of the LGBTQ+ community during a November 2022 appearance on VH1’s The Surreal Life. “My life has kind of changed drastically and this show has kind of been a catalyst to that because of the fact that I had so much fear going into this journey,” Alsina said.
August appears to have come out, but it’s unclear whether he is gay
August Alsina’s statement on The Surreal Life feels and sounds like a sexuality confession, but it’s not an unequivocal coming-out moment. Let’s take apart August’s monologue.
Alsina says the show has forced him to confront his fears and prompted him to escape his comfort zone. “I’m so thankful for the opportunity to be able to use my voice and share my voice on a platform like this, and allow others to see themselves through me,” August says.
August adds that his experience on the series ‘has taught me love in so many different forms and facets.’ He adds that he’s found a love that ‘defies all the constructs’:
“Love showed up – but in a new way. I wanna share that and really honor the person that I love and that loves me back and teaching me so much about love and healing. I wanna do that in front of the world because it defies all the constructs that one would say love is supposed to be or love should look like.”
Alsina introduces a man on the screen before the pair hug and exchange I love Yous. Up to this point, it sounds like a gay confession. However, the man’s identity complicates the matter.
His name is Zu, Alsina’s collaborator on the songs 2am and YeahYeah. Zu is also a model and ambassador for Encina Wellness, August’s skincare line.
Zu’s introduction after August’s statements suggests he is Alsina’s boyfriend. However, people claim that Zu is Alsina’s brother: August calls him ‘little brother Zu.’ In an Instagram video posted on 18th July 2022, August and Zu wished their ‘MF mama’ a happy birthday, hinting they are brothers.
Some fans have accused VH1 of creating ambiguity through clever editing. @onnaelise10’s tweet encapsulates the confusion about August’s sexuality:
“Y’all confusing the hell outta me. Half of y’all saying that’s August Alsina boyfriend; the other half saying no he’s not – that’s his brother. NOW WHICH ONE IS IT CAUSE THOSE ARE TWO VERY DIFFERENT THINGS.”
August was linked to several women before dating Jada
August Alsina told Angela Yee that he had ‘never been in love’ before connecting with Jada. He insinuated that he didn’t fall in love with women he dated prior to his entanglement with Pinkett.
Alsina dated Mandy Williams from 2013 to 2015. During their relationship, August was linked with Kayla Phillips, who was later rumored to be dating Justin Beiber.
After ending things with Williams for good, Alsina and Miracle Watts started dating. Their brief relationship ended in 2016; the pair remained close friends.
August’s romance with Jada started in 2017 and ended in 2019. Since the breakup, Alsina hasn’t dated anyone publicly. A source speaking to The Sun said August plans to release a book detailing his relationship with Jada:
“August is getting ready to sign a big money book deal which will detail his romantic liaisons with Jada. August will go into detail about his time with Jada and will also speak about how he spent time living in homes owned by Will when he was away filming. He knows there are a lot of people fascinated by his story and is happy to tell it.”