Regarding Louis saying he feels "protected"
Friends, I don't know what it was like to see that update come through but hearing it in person... I legitimately almost fell over.
I think we as a crowd took a full 1.5 seconds to register what he'd said. Not his typical feeling supported and invincible speech, but PROTECTED. And not just "on stage" but "in this environment."
What a loaded adjective to use. From Louis, who speaks about putting himself out there and allowing himself to be vulnerable. Who spent years fighting to get to where he is, with voices telling him over and over to act a certain way and talk a certain way and don't do that and don't say that and being made to feel like simply being himself was not okay. Like people would turn on him.
In a crowd with a sea of rainbow flags, Louis said he feels protected.
Seeing him in person, Louis absolutely SHINES. We've seen it every night of tour so far but he gets a little bit better, a little more confident. The quirky, fun, charismatic person we've all loved for so long is really, truly glowing every single night.
If you watch footage or if you're fortunate to see him live, you can see him pause to just take it all in. When he lets the crowd take over singing and lets it wash over him, it's like he's in awe. Everybody is there for him, just him. Everyone has stuck it out for this long and is so fiercely loyal.
For fans, I think it's pretty cathartic for us to experience this after so much waiting.
But I will say that I don't think it's even simply cathartic for him. I think it's healing. It's like every show, every time the crowd is singing back every single word to his songs, every rainbow flag that's waved, is healing a little bit of him that was hurt over the years.
So yeah, I think protected is a pretty powerful choice of words. What a very CODED choice of words. And based on the energy in that room tonight, I don't think there's any doubt his fans would go to the mats for him.
I'm so intensely grateful to have been there to hear him express just how we make him feel, because I think it goes without saying he makes us feel that way too.