Ne-yo has issued an apology after causing an uproar on social media when he spoke about transgender kids during a recent interview.
“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 Sunday night. “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.”
As we previously reported, in a recent interview with Gloria Velez for Vlad TV, the grammy winning musician sat down and spoke about how things were during his era. “I have no problem with LBGT… I have no problem with nobody, okay? Love who you love, do what you do,” Ne-Yo prefaced his stance. “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 continued, “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. I’m not gonna call you a goldfish. But you wanna be a goldfish, you be a goldfish.”
He also noted that “we live in a weird time” and complained that “comedians can’t tell jokes no more,” before going back to his beliefs on transgender-identifying children.
“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?” Ne-Yo continued, “if you let this 5-year-old little boy eat candy all day, he’s gonna do that. Like, 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 themselves? When did that happen? Like, I don’t understand that.”
After the clips surfaced online, Ne-Yo began to receive backlash he even jumped in our comments to defend himself after we posted the clip.
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“1st and foremost, I CONDEMN NO ONE,” Ne-Yo 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.”
He continued, “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.”