Brian May has defended himself after criticism over recent comments regarding the trans community, saying his words were “subtly twisted” by a journalist.
May was criticised this week for slamming the BRIT Awards’ removal of gendered awards, and saying Queen would have had to have a transgender member to be successful now.
“It’s a decision that has been made without enough thought. A lot of things work quite well and can be left alone,” May told The Mirror at ITV’s Palooza event in London this week (November 23).
Taking to Instagram today (November 28), he clarified his comments and said that he was the victim of “predatory Press hacks” who made him seem “unfriendly to trans people”.
He wrote: “Yes – I was ambushed and completely stitched up by a journalist at the recent ITV event. And it’s led to a whole mess of press stories making it look like I’m unfriendly to trans people. Nothing could be further from the truth. My words were subtly twisted. I should have known better than to talk to those predatory Press hacks.
“Sincere apologies to anyone who has been hurt by the stories. My heart is open as always to humans of all colours, all creeds, all sexes and sexualities, all shapes and sizes – and all creatures. We all deserve respect and an equal place in this world. And my grateful thanks to all of you who stepped up to defend me in the last couple of days. It means so much that you have faith in me.”
See the post below:
This week, the BRITs announced details of their 2022 ceremony, including the news that Artist of the Year and International Artist of the Year awards are replacing the traditional Male and Female categories from previous years.
Back in 2019, it was reported that the BRITs were planning to scrap their gender categories in a bid to include non-binary artists. The awards ceremony, which occurs every February, was reportedly keen to “evolve” and axe the categories in a bid to change with the music industry.
The BRIT Awards then responded after non-binary singer Sam Smith spoke out about their plans to keep gender-based categories for the 2021 ceremony.
In his interview with The Mirror, May said the decision was emblematic of a “frightening” trend, adding that he believes that Queen would not have been considered diverse enough nowadays to win their four BRIT Awards, saying: “We would be forced to have people of different colours and different sexes and we would have to have a trans [person]. You know life doesn’t have to be like that. We can be separate and different.”
You can view the original article HERE.
