Ne-Yo retracts apology to parents of trans kids after ‘woke’ backlash
R&B singer Ne-Yo walked back his apology to the parents of trans children, claiming that he is “entitled to feel how I feel.”
The “So Sick” singer, born Shaffer Chimere Smith, posted his retraction on Instagram Monday, saying that he does not apologize for making the remarks on Saturday.
“First and foremost, I did not apologize for having an opinion on this matter,” the rapper said in the video. “I am a 43-year-old heterosexual man raising five boys and two girls okay, that’s my reality.”
Ne-Yo, 43, clarified that the remarks were not intended to offend anyone and that he was sorry if they had. However, he said that he was “absolutely entitled to feel how I feel the same way you are entitled to feel how you feel.”
The “Miss Independent” crooner claimed that he was asked a question and he responded normally.
“I have no beef with the LBGTQIA+ community whatsoever,” continued the rapper. “Do what you want to do with your kids.”
On Saturday, Ne-Yo found himself in hot water after criticizing parents who allowed kids to make “life-changing” decisions about their gender.
“I feel like the parents have almost forgotten what the role of a parent is,” said the rapper during an interview for VladTV. “If your little boy comes up to you and says, ‘Daddy I wanna be a girl,’ you just let him rock with that?”
“Where did he get that? If you let this 5-year-old little boy eat candy all day, he’s gonna do that,” added Ne-Yo. “Like, when did it become a good idea to let a 5-year-old, a 6-year-old, a 12-year-old make a life-changing decision?”
The Grammy winner also said that he was from “an era” where a “man was a man and a woman was a woman.”
Despite walking back his statement, Ne-Yo stated that he plans to educate himself on gender but ultimately stated that he doubts “there’s any book anywhere or any opinion that somebody is gonna tell me it is gonna make me okay.”
“I love everybody. Live how you want to live love how you want to love but your opinion is yours,” he added.
Ne-Yo captioned the video with a brief explanation of why he was rescinding the apology, saying that he “would not be bullied into apologizing for having an opinion” and that he wanted his fans to hear it from his mouth and not a “publicists computer.”
The Post reached out to Ne-Yo for comment.
His retraction comes a mere day after the singer issued his first apology, stating that he was “an advocate for love and inclusivity in the LGBTQ+ community” and admitting that he understood how his comments “could’ve been interpreted as insensitive and offensive.”
Many fans of the “One in a Million” singer seemed to back his stance with many citing his response as “mature.”
“No apology was necessary in the first place you’re entitled to how you feel,” said another user.
“You didn’t say anything wrong,” said one user. “You are entitled to your opinion.”
“This is one of the most emotionally mature responses to backlash that. I’ve ever seen. Much respect,” praised a third.
Despite the general praise the rapper received, some of his fans were skeptical of his claims.
“You just need to educate yourself more on what it means for children to have gender dysphoria and what the medical and psychological professionals are saying about what is the best way to go forth with these children,” one commenter wrote.
Trans activist Alexandra Billings slammed the rapper saying that his claim of “loving everyone” is false.
