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Photo: Sergione Infuso/Corbis via Getty Images
Róisín Murphy is responding to backlash for her recent anti-trans comments, just days out from releasing a new album. The Irish dance singer posted a long note to Twitter, writing, “To witness the ramifications of my actions and the divisions it has caused is heartbreaking.” An undated screenshot of a Facebook comment, apparently responding to a post about the anti-trans comedian Graham Linehan, had circulated, in which Murphy claimed that “little mixed up kids” who say they are transgender “are vulnerable and need to be protected” from taking puberty blockers. She also claimed those drugs, which are safe, reversible, and used for more than just gender dysphoria, “ARE FUCKED.” (And despite those views, Murphy disputed being called a TERF, or trans-exclusionary radical feminist, saying, “Please don’t keep using that word against women.”)
In her new statement, Murphy explained the comment “had been on my mind” and that the friends she was discussing with “were informed about the topic.” The comment specifically came as a shock to a widely LGBTQ+ fan base that viewed Murphy as accepting. “I’ve spent my whole life celebrating diversity and different views,” Murphy wrote. “But I never patronise or cynically aim my music directly at the pockets of any demographic.” She went on to apologize that her words were “directly hurtful” to fans and “blindsided” them. But she also seemed to defend her comment, adding, “I understand fixed views are not helpful but I really hope people can understand my concern was out of love for all of us.” Not to mention that she’s also possibly riling up the anti-woke crowd in the post with allusions to “social-media fire and brimstone” and “stepping out of line.”
Murphy concluded by assuring fans she won’t continue airing these views on Facebook or elsewhere, writing, “I will now completely bow out of this conversation in the public domain.” With good timing — her statement comes just ten days before she releases her highly anticipated sixth solo album, Hit Parade. “My true calling is music and music will never exclude any of us,” she continued. “I believe it will always be one of the greatest tools we can use to create a culture of tolerance.”
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