Shortly after making waves by pissing off the trans community before seeming to apologize for stepping on the left’s third rail earlier this week, music artist Ne-Yo appears to have backtracked on that mea culpa, blaming his publicist and setting the record straight in a now-viral rant posted to social media.
It al started when the 43-year-old pop and R&B singer, whose real name is Shaffer Chimere Smith, told VladTV’s Gloria Velez in an interview posted Saturday that he doesn’t agree with young children being “transitioned” from one gender to another.
“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?” he simply asked.
Despite simply pointing out that very young, often prepubescent children shouldn’t be put through damaging social and even medical changes at such a young age, echoing the sentiments of millions of Americans who agree, the singer was immediately lambasted by LGBTQ advocates on the left who accused him of - naturally - transphobia, bigotry, and hate.
Not long after the interview was published, a written apology was posted to Ne-Yo’s official Twitter account, in which the music artist appeared to apologize for offending the lynch mob.
“After much reflection, I’d like to express my deepest apologies to anyone that I may have hurt with my comments on parenting and gender identity,” he shared. “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.”
I’d like to express my deepest apologies... pic.twitter.com/M5aTFN40tn
— NE-YO (@NeYoCompound) August 7, 2023
But it looks like that apology wasn’t entirely sincere - or perhaps even from Ne-Yo himself.
In a video posted to Instagram Monday evening, the celeb spoke directly to his fans and whoever else might be listening, saying he wanted them to hear his thoughts straight from him and not “the publicist’s computer.”
"Listen, I normally don’t give too much of a damn about what y’all think about what I do, what you have to say about what I say, whatever. I normally don’t care because, like I said, opinions ain’t special. Everybody got one. However, this is something I feel very strongly on, and I need y’all to hear it from the horse’s mouth, not the publicist’s computer," Ne-Yo began.
After his publicist forced him to apologize to the Pronoun People, Ne-Yo says he is NOT SORRY for saying children should not undergo irreversible gender reassignment surgery
— Ashley St. Clair (@stclairashley) August 8, 2023
🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/NzaGQGYJQY
"First and foremost, I did not apologize for having an opinion on this matter. I am a 43-year-old heterosexual man raising five boys and two girls, okay? That’s my reality. If my opinion offended somebody, yeah, sure, I apologize for you being offended because that wasn’t my intention. My intention is never to offend anybody," he went on.
"However, I’m entitled to feel how I feel. I am absolutely entitled to feel how I feel the same way you are entitled to feel how you feel," he continued. "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. And I ain’t got no problem with that. I’m a hustler, alright? I’ll figure it out.”
Ne-Yo went on to say, “Here’s my opinion: I will never be OK with allowing a child to make a decision that detrimental to their life. I will never be OK with that. I definitely plan to educate myself a little bit more on this matter, however, I doubt there is any book anywhere, or any opinion that somebody’s gonna tell me that’s gonna make me OK with a child making a decision like that. That’s just period, point-blank, and that’s how I feel.”
A written message posted alongside the video read, “Ok. This s--- 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."
“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,” Ne-Yo added.
In his video, the singer added that he's "get no beef" with the "LGBTQIA+ community," and that he supports them having their own opinions and raising their kids however they like, but adding that he was simply "asked a question, and I answered the damn question."
Seems he didn't get the memo that simply answering a question and giving a personal opinion is enough to get you thrown on the social scrap heap these days. Thankfully, it also seems he didn't get the memo that he's supposed to care.
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Harry's Men's Razor Company Uses Trans ‘Man,’ AKA Woman, To Promote Shave Set https://t.co/NXyUps6irb
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