Macy Gray says she has ‘nothing but love’ for the LGBT+ community after receiving backlash for anti-trans comments
‘My statement on Piers Morgan was grossly misunderstood,’ singer said
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Your support makes all the difference.Macy Gray has claimed she has “nothing but love” for the LGBT+ community after facing backlash for her comments about the trans community.
“I have nothing but love for the LGBT+ and transgender community and have been a supporter since day one,” Gray said in a statement.
“My statement on Piers Morgan was grossly misunderstood,” she added. “I don’t hate anyone. I respect everyone’s right to feel comfortable in their bodies and live their own truth.”
During an appearance on Piers Morgan Uncensored on Monday (4 July), the 54-year-old singer told host Morgan: “I will say this and everyone’s gonna hate me but as a woman, just because you go change your [body] parts, doesn’t make you a woman, sorry.”
Gray’s statement followed a discussion about “the issue of transgenders in sports”. During the interview, Morgan claimed that he supported trans rights, “but not when you have people born to obvious physical superior bodies, transitioning and thrashing the women in sports”.
Gray also said she would use her/hers pronouns for trans women if they want her to, “but that doesn’t make you a woman”.
The “I Try” singer’s comments caused an outrage on social media, with some labelling her a “terf” – an acronym for trans-exclusionary radical feminist.
“Did not have ‘Macy Gray is a terf’ on my bingo card. That f****** sucks,” one person wrote.
Journalist Imara Jones wrote: “Oh no! [Macy Gray] has gone full transphobic on [Piers Morgan] on 4 July no less! Her selective freedom for some is a ‘no’ from me. We have so much work to do [to] help everyone see that patriarchy is a universal problem. This is sad.”
Another person added: “Everything going on in the world right now and Macy Gray decides to use her platform to instead call out people who are already oppressed and attempt to invalidate them.”
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British author JK Rowling responded to Gray’s comments by saying that she’ll be purchasing the singer’s “entire back catalogue”.
“Today feels like a good day to ensure I’ve bought @MacyGraysLife’s entire back catalogue,” Rowling commented.
Rowling has repeatedly been criticised and accused of transphobia for her comments about transgender people.
Her comments have been met with widespread criticism, with many of the Harry Potter cast distancing themselves from the author.
However, the author has repeatedly rejected the idea that she is “transphobic” and has said that she “knows and loves” trans people.
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