Irish singer-songwriter Róisín Murphy apologized Tuesday to a woke mob hounding her for a Facebook comment expressing her opposition to puberty blockers for children.
In her offending post — shared across social media without context of what she was replying to — Murphy wrote, “Please don’t call me a TERF, please don’t keep using that word against women, I beg you! But puberty blockers ARE FUCKED, absolutely desolate, big Pharma laughing all the way to the bank.”
The fact that people like @roisinmurphy are expressing ignorant views like this says nothing good about the state of education about trans lives in Ireland at the moment, at the same time as people are harassing librarians and schools to remove books meant to address the problem. pic.twitter.com/sv267E9mSQ
— Aidan Comerford (@AidanCTweets) August 23, 2023
“Little mixed up kids are vulnerable and need to be protected, that’s just true,” the singer, who rose to fame in the 200s as half of the pop duo Moloko, added.
TERF means “trans-exclusionary radical feminist,” a term used by radical leftists to denigrate women who do not want dysphoric men invading spaces set apart for the female sex.
On Tuesday, Murphy backed down and apologized to the virtual woke mob for her mundane comment in a lengthy statement, writing, “I have been thrown into a very public discourse in an arena that I’m uncomfortable in and deeply unsuitable for.”
“I cannot apologize enough for being the reason for this eruption of damaging and potentially dangerous social media fire and brimstone,” she continued.
— Róisín Murphy (@roisinmurphy) August 29, 2023
“To witness the ramifications of my actions and the divisions it has caused is heartbreaking,” she added.
“I’ve had a personal Facebook account for years,” Murphy explained. “The morning I made these comments I was scrolling and I brought up a specific issue that was only broadly related to the original post. It was something that had been on my mind. I knew my friends were informed about the topic. I should’ve known too that I was stepping out of line.”
Murphy went on to say that she has spent her “whole life celebrating diversity and different views.”
“But I never patronize or cynically aim my music directly at the pockets of any demographic,” she continued. “The music I make is the core of everything I do and it’s ever-evolving, freewheeling, and unpredictable.”
“For those of you who are leaving me, or have already left, I understand, I really do, but please know I have loved every one of you. I have always been so proud of my audience and understood the privilege of performing for you,” Murphy added.
The “Overpowered” singer continued, adding, “I am sorry my comments have been directly hurtful to many of you. You must have felt a huge shock, blindsided by this so abruptly. I understand fixed views are not helpful but I really hope people can understand my concern was out of love for all of us.”
“I will now completely bow out of this conversation within the public domain,” she added. “I’m not in the slightest bit interested in turning it into ANY kind of ‘campaign,’ because campaigning is not what I do.”
Murphy made sure to cover her bases by adding, “Though I completely understand that for others activism is their true calling, and is necessary and legitimate in a democracy.”
“My true calling is music and music will never exclude any of us, I believe it will aways be one of the greatest tools we can use to create a culture of tolerance,” she concluded.
Murphy has a 13-year-old daughter and a preteen son. She is releasing her sixth solo album, titled Hit Parade, on September 8.
You can follow Alana Mastrangelo on Facebook and Twitter at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.
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