Ne-Yo. Photo by Paras Griffin/Getty Images for BET
Ne-Yo is walking back an apology for his widely-criticized comments on gender identity in children. In a video posted on Instagram yesterday (August 8), the R&B singer implied that the previously-written apology came from his publicist.
"Opinions aren't special, everyone has one," he said in the clip. "However this is something I feel very strongly about. I want you to hear this from the horse's mouth and not the publicist's computer. I do not apologize for having an opinion on this matter." See the video in full below.
In the caption, he continued: "I WILL NOT BE BULLIED INTO APOLOGIZING FOR HAVING AN OPINION. AGREEING TO DISAGREE IS NOT A DECLARATION OF WAR... If one of my 7 kids were to decide that he or she wanted to be something other than what they were born as, once they’re old enough and mature enough to make that decision…so be it. Not gonna love em’ any less. Daddy is still Daddy and he loves you regardless. But this isn’t even a discussion until they are MENTALLY MATURE ENOUGH to have such a discussion. Period. Point blank."
The controversy began with comments made during a VladTV interview with Gloria Velez. Ne-Yo said, "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 five! When did it become a good idea to let a five-year-old, six-year-old, twelve-year-old make a life-changing decision for theyself?"
He later added that "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."
After receiving backlash, a statement was posted on Twitter "express[ing] my deepest apologies to anyone that I may have hurt with my comments on parenting and gender identity." It also said Ne-Yo "plan[s] to educate myself on the topic, so I can approach future conversations with more empathy."
The FADER has reached out to Ne-Yo and his reps for comment.
