Ne-Yo takes back apology over comments about parenting and gender identity
Ne-Yo has gone back on his earlier apology for comments he has made about parenting and gender identity.
The singer-songwriter stirred controversy over the weekend during an interview for VladTV. in which he questioned parents who support their children identifying as a different gender than that which they were assigned at birth.
“I just personally come from an era where a man was a man and a woman was a woman. And there was two genders, and that’s just how I rocked,” he said in the clip.
“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.”
“When did that happen? I don’t understand,” continued the father of seven. “He can’t drive a car yet, but he can decide his sex?”
Ne-Yo later apologised following a backlash, promising to “better educate” himself on the topic.
“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,” he continued.
“At the end of the day, I lead with love and support everyone’s freedom of expression and pursuit of happiness.”
Now, however, Ne-Yo seems to have gone back on his word. In a video posted to Instagram, he said he was still planning on learning more about the issue at hand, but maintained he had a right to his own opinion. He also claimed the original apology came “from my publicist’s computer”.
“My intention is never to offend anybody,” he said. “However, I’m entitled to feel how I feel, the same way you are entitled to feel how you feel. I ain’t ask nobody to follow me, I ain’t ask nobody to agree with me; I was asked a question and I answered the damn question.”
Ne-Yo went on to say that while he has “no beef” with the LGBTQ+ community, he said he would “never be OK with allowing a child to make a decision that detrimental to their life,” regarding to medical treatment for trans youth. “I will definitely be educating myself a little bit more on this matter,” he said. “However, I doubt that there is any book anywhere or any opinion that somebody’s gonna tell me that’s gonna make me OK with letting a child make a decision like that.
He concluded: “If I get canceled for this, then you know what, maybe this is a world where they don’t need a Ne-Yo no more,” he said. “Live how you wanna live, love how you wanna love, but your opinion is yours.”
In the caption, Ne-Yo added to what he said in the video. “Ok. This shit is getting out of hand. FROM THE HORSE’S MOUTH. I WILL NOT BE BULLIED INTO APOLOGIZING FOR HAVING AN OPINION. AGREEING TO DISAGREE IS NOT A DECLARATION OF WAR.
Lord knows I ain’t perfect, I’ve made my mistakes indeed.
“And I’ve apologized to the people I’ve hurt for those mistakes. I couldn’t cast a stone if I wanted to, which I don’t. And I haven’t.
He went on to say that he would still support his children if one of them theoretically came out as transgender. “My intention is never to offend anybody…but my opinion is MINE and I’m entitled to it. I don’t care what y’all do with yours. That’s YOURS. This is how I FEEL. If one of my 7 kids were to decide that he or she wanted to be something other than what they were born as, once they’re old enough and mature enough to make that decision…so be it. Not gonna love em’ any less. Daddy is still Daddy and he loves you regardless. But this isn’t even a discussion until they are MENTALLY MATURE ENOUGH to have such a discussion.
“Period. Point blank. Whatever. Y’all do y’all, imma do me and we can agree to disagree and coexist PEACEFULLY. LOVE IS THE ONLY TRUE POWER.”
In other Ne-Yo news, last month the musician revealed that he’s a huge fan of the game Street Fighter. It was also reported that he takes his PlayStation 5 with him on tour in a “new personal tradition” in order to handle the stresses that his work throws at him
The post Ne-Yo takes back apology over comments about parenting and gender identity appeared first on NME.
Emma Wilkes
NME
