Ne-Yo has issued an apology for the comments he recently made regarding transgender kids.
“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,” the singer wrote on Twitter/X Sunday night (Aug. 6). “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.”
Ne-Yo continued: “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.”
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“At the end of the day,” he said, “I lead with love and support everyone’s freedom of expression and pursuit of happiness.”
On Saturday, a video of an interview with Gloria Velez for VladTV — in which Ne-Yo and Velez questioned parents who support their children identifying as a different gender than the sex they were assigned at birth — was uploaded to YouTube.
“I just personally come from an era where a man was a man and a woman was a woman,” said Ne-Yo in the interview clip. “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.”
During their conversation he said, “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?” asked Ne-Yo, who is a father of seven children.
The American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Psychological Association all agree that gender-affirming care is not dangerous for trans youth, and in most cases, it’s highly beneficial and life-saving.
Later on Saturday Ne-Yo expanded on his thoughts in the comments section of an Instagram post, writing, “1st and foremost, I CONDEMN NO ONE. 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. Why should I care if my opinion upsets you when you don’t care if yours upsets anyone? Opinions aren’t special. We all have one. People voice them regularly whether they’re asked or not. I was actually asked mine. Agreeing to disagree is not a declaration of war. Y’all do whatever the hell y’all want to. But my feelings on the matter are mine. Same way yours are yours. Meanwhile, I love everybody. Don’t agree with some of y’all’s ideals….but love you no less.”
See his latest statement below.
