Gay Twins Search for Stardom in "Nemesis Rising"

On Logo’s new, seven-part reality series Jacob & Joshua: Nemesis Rising, which premieres tonight, twins Jacob and Joshua Miller pursue their dream of becoming pop stars. Part of that involves being marketed as an openly gay duo, Nemesis, and that means coming out to their Jehovah’s Witness family. Jacob and Joshua face the possibility of being disfellowshipped, or shunned by their congregation, and even worse, their parents might be instructed by the Elders (the congregation’s leaders) to have no contact with their sons.

We recently sat down with Jacob and Joshua to get their take on their music, the show and the repercussions that their very public coming-out might have on their lives.

AfterElton.com: When did you come out to each other?
Jacob Miller: It was right after we moved to Nashville. … I started seeing a kid, and Josh didn’t know about it for a long time. But then he kind of figured out something was going on and he had an emotional breakdown [laughs] on the couch in our living room. I had to give him a hug and tell him I was dating a guy. And then he totally had an emotional breakdown. About three months after that, I caught him in bed with one of my best friends.

AE: Did you have any gay role models to look up to?
Joshua Miller: I don’t think that we identified with gay role models.

Jacob: We both loved Martina Navratilova. I was just a little kid … and I remember sitting in front of the TV and Martina was playing tennis … and my mom was like, “She’s a lesbian,” and I said, “What’s a lesbian?” She said, “That means she likes girls.” And I remember thinking in my head, “cool.”

AE: I actually also have a gay brother. Do you think having two gay siblings in the same family makes coming out easier?
Joshua: Yes, but I would take it a step further and say that identical twins are probably a different animal altogether. Because, irrespective of sexuality, I don’t think Jacob and I relied on our parents … the way a natural child would. I didn’t really ever need anybody but Jacob.

AE: When the idea for the show was first brought to you, what was your initial reaction?
Jacob: Surprise, because I had always … hoped to move away and have a successful recording career. I never in my wildest imagination imagined we would have our own TV series. … I was thrilled. It was the opportunity of a lifetime. I think Joshua was a little more reserved.

Joshua: I was just trying to catch up … trying to figure out all the repercussions and realities in my mind. … I wasn’t expecting a TV show, and I wasn’t expecting a TV show where we would be out. And so, it took me a minute to catch up.

AE: Coming out is normally a very personal decision made by each individual and done in private. You’re coming out to the country in a very public way. In the premiere episode, you were not in complete agreement over coming out so publicly. Why did you each feel the way you did?
Joshua: I haven’t seen the premiere yet. I’m dying to see it. … Mom and Dad are important friends of Jacob and mine. No one was trying to go home and spring it on them like, “Guess what? We’re gay!” and “Ha ha! The cameras are here.” It was very personal and it was difficult. So I think that’s why we weren’t in agreement. Jacob felt like it had to be done. I realized it had to be done, but wasn’t very excited about doing it.

AE: How much of your fear of being open and honest about who you are comes from the fear of your family’s response, and how much is uncertainty about the effects on your career?
Jacob: There was a lot of trepidation where Joshua was concerned about how it would affect our career. … Coming out to your family is never easy because it’s the last thing that your family wants to hear … especially if you find out two of your kids are gay … but you deal with it because you don’t have any other choice. Religion complicated it even worse, and we grew up our entire lives wanting to be successful singers. So you’re terrified … that people aren’t going to like you or buy your record because you’re gay. I think it takes a tremendous amount of courage to say, “You know what? I’m not going to worry about that. This is who I am. I’m just a normal person like everybody else … and we’re just going to do this and we’re not going to care.