This post has been updated since publication to address additional statements made by Ne-Yo. See below for further details.
Rapper and R&B singer Ne-Yo found himself at the center of a controversy over the weekend following comments questioning gender identity and gender transitions for children. After initially standing behind his remarks refusing to affirm transgender people and expressing concern over indoctrinating kids, the 43-year-old rapper ultimately succumbed to the negative feedback and apologized for his “insensitive and offensive” words.
The wave of outrage first began building during Ne-Yo’s appearance on VladTV with Gloria Velez, which was uploaded to YouTube on Saturday.
“I just personally come from an era where a man was a man and a woman was a woman,” Ne-Yo said when the subject of transgenderism was raised. “And 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.”
Ne-Yo blasts parents who let their children believe that they can pick whatever gender they want to be: “I feel like the parents have almost forgotten what the role of a parent is. If your little boy comes up to you and says, ‘Daddy I wanna be a girl,’ you just let him rock with… pic.twitter.com/JRdn7VGZDI
— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) August 6, 2023
He continued by criticizing parents of “transgender” children, condemning the decision to allow children to choose their own identities. “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,” Ne-Yo said. “He can’t drive a car yet, but he can decide his sex?”
When criticism of the video first began to appear, Ne-Yo took to Instagram to clarify his position: “first and foremost, I CONDEMN NO ONE,” he wrote. “Who am I to condemn anybody? Your life, your kids, your choice. I was asked a question and I answered it. My opinion is mine. I’m not asking anybody to agree with me nor am I telling you what you can and cannot do with your children. I stated my opinion on a matter and that’s that.”
But less than a day later, the rapper finally caved to the pressure from angry transgender activists and posted an apology to Twitter on Sunday night.
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. 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. At the end of the day, I lead with love and support everyone’s freedom of expression and pursuit of happiness.
This apology drew a second wave of criticism from the opposite direction, with critics of transgenderism accusing Ne-Yo of cowardice and failing to stand up for his convictions.
UPDATE: On Monday afternoon, Ne-Yo uploaded a video to Instagram addressing both the controversy and the apology, which he says was put out by publicists, not by him. This video, he says, is the truth “from the horse’s mouth, not the publicist’s computer.” He begins by refusing to apologize for having an opinion informed by his experiences as a father, although he does apologize if anyone took offense at what he said. While he says he intends to keep educating himself on the matter, Ne-Yo says he will never approve of allowing children to make decisions that are “detrimental” to their health.
🚨Singer Ne-Yo puts out public statement to his 4M Instagram followers that he stands by his original statement:
Little kids should not get genital mutilation surgeries
His publicist put out a statement saying he apologized to the pronoun mafia and would “educate himself”, but… pic.twitter.com/PHpdeJyI4e
— DC_Draino (@DC_Draino) August 7, 2023
Amid the ongoing controversy over childhood LGBTQ identification, many are beginning to wonder whether this is a natural phenomenon or a deliberate and unnatural agenda. Patrick Bet-David and Joe Rogan discussed this very subject last week during an episode of The Joe Rogan Experience.
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