American singer, Ne-Yo has offered an apology to the LGBTQ community following controversial comments he made about children and gender identity.
During a recent interview with VladTV, the RnB singer discussed transgender children and questioned minors’ rights to receive gender-affirming care.
Ne-Yo explained that he comes from an era where there were two genders, and he believes that children should not be making life-changing decisions for themselves at a young age.
He said, “I have no issue with LBG — I have no problem with nobody. You love who you love, you do what you do. I just personally come from an era where a man was a man and a woman was a woman.”
He then went on to say, “There was two genders, and that’s just how I rocked. You could identify as a goldfish if you feel like, I don’t care. That ain’t my business.
“It becomes my business when you try to make me play the game with you. I’m not gonna call you a goldfish. But if you wanna be a goldfish, you go be a goldfish. We live in a weird time, man. We do.”
The father of seven later came for parents, saying: “I feel like parents have almost forgotten what the role of a parent is. If your little boy comes to you and says, ‘Daddy, I want to be a girl.’ And you just let him rock with that? He’s 5 … If you let this 5-year-old boy decide to eat candy all day, he’s gonna do that.
“When did it become a good idea to let a 5-year-old, let a 6-year-old, let a 12-year-old make a life-changing decision for themself? When did that happen? I don’t understand. He can’t drive a car yet, but he can decide his sex?”
Interviewer Gloria Velez appeared to agree with the singer, responding with, “And he can cut off his pee-pee.”
After receiving backlash for his remarks, Ne-Yo took to his Twitter page and issueed an apology, acknowledging that his comments could have been interpreted as insensitive and offensive.
He expressed his support for love and inclusivity in the LGBTQI+ community and stated his intention to educate himself further on the topic of gender identity to approach future conversations with more empathy.
Neyo wrote, “I’ve always been an advocate for love and inclusivity in the LGBTQI+ community, so I understand how my comments could’ve been interpreted as insensitive and offensive.
“Gender identity is nuanced and I can honestly admit that I plan to better educate myself on the topic, so I can approach future conversations with more empathy.”
https://twitter.com/NeYoCompound/status/1688363776360534016?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1688363776360534016%7Ctwgr%5E0ff580fd0b619503ec2c26c856cc3e8fb3f709be%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.lindaikejisblog.com%2F2023%2F8%2Fsinger-ne-yo-apologizes-after-criticizing-parents-of-transgender-children.html
KanyiDaily had also reported how singer Taylor Swift kicked off Pride Month with a message of solidarity for the LGBTQ+ community, pointing out policies she believes are anti-LGBTQ+.
