trans
With Monday (March 31) marking the annual International Transgender Day of Visibility, pop superstar Madonna took a moment to celebrate the community with a post to her social media. Sharing a series of photos from a fundraising fashion show she attended over the weekend to her Instagram account — including a photo with trans model […]
03/31/2025
For International Transgender Day of Visibility, Billboard asked trans and nonbinary stars about how they’re moving two steps forward while political progress takes one step back.
03/31/2025
As a vocal advocate and ally to the LGBTQ+ community, Dolly Parton has made a point to call for inclusivity and acceptance throughout her career. Now, she’s speaking out once again to defend transgender people being targeted by state-level laws. In a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter published on Thursday (Nov. 2), Parton was […]
08/25/2023
With healthcare for trasgender kids becoming a hot political topic in the last few years, a number of stars have spoken up either for or against it.
08/25/2023
While Grimes and Elon Musk may not be a couple anymore, the pair still co-parent their two children (X and Y) — which means they still have to have tough conversations every now and then. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news In an interview with Wired on Tuesday, […]
Ne-Yo may have issued a public apology on Sunday (Aug. 6) for making “insensitive and offensive” comments about the trans community, but the singer is taking that apology back.
In a video shared to his Instagram on Monday (Aug. 7), the “So Sick” singer said that he won’t “apologize for having an opinion.” Claiming that the original apology came from his “publicist’s computer” instead of from himself, Ne-Yo said that he wanted his fans to know how he actually felt.
“My intention is never to offend anybody,” he said. “However, I’m entitled to feel how I feel, the same way you are entitled to feel how you feel. I ain’t ask nobody to follow me, I ain’t ask nobody to agree with me; I was asked a question and I answered the d–n question.”
Ne-Yo went on to further dig his heels in on the topic of gender-affirming care for minors. While he said he has “no beef” with queer and trans folks, he will “never be OK with allowing a child to make a decision that detrimental to their life,” referring to medical treatment for trans youth. “I will definitely be educating myself a little bit more on this matter,” he said. “However, I doubt that there is any book anywhere or any opinion that somebody’s gonna tell me that’s gonna make me OK with letting a child make a decision like that.”
Closing out his video, the singer said that he’s not concerned about backlash to his comments anymore. “If I get canceled for this, then you know what, maybe this is a world where they don’t need a Ne-Yo no more,” he said. “Live how you wanna live, love how you wanna love, but your opinion is yours.”
Billboard has reached out to Ne-Yo’s representatives for further comment.
In the caption for the clip, Ne-Yo wrote that he “WILL NOT BE BULLIED INTO APOLOGIZING FOR HAVING AN OPINION,” and offered up a hypothetical scenario to demonstrate his point. “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,” he wrote. “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.”
The controversy started on Saturday (Aug. 5), when Ne-Yo sat for an interview with Gloria Velez of VladTV and spoke at length about gender-affirming care for kids. “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 5 … If you let this 5-year-old boy decide to eat candy all day, he’s gonna do that,” he said. “When did it become a good idea to let a 5-year-old, let a 6-year-old, let a 12-year-old make a life-changing decision for themself? When did that happen?”
The rapper’s statements mirror claims made by anti-trans legislators, claiming that children shouldn’t have access to the “irreversible” treatments of gender-affirming care by outlawing it across multiple states. However, experts say that most medical interventions for trans minors — including puberty blockers, speech therapy, gender-affirming hormone treatment and more — are not permanent.
Additionally, medical research groups including the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pedatrics and the American Psychological Association have all developed guidelines for practitioners on how to best administer gender-affirming care. Each organization agrees that gender-affirming care is not only safe for minors, but in many cases it is vital for their health and well-being.
A day after his interview, an apology was published on Ne-Yo’s X account (formerly known as Twitter), stating that he has “always been an advocate for love and inclusivity in the LGBTQI+ community,” and underscoring that “my comments could’ve been interpreted as insensitive and offensive.” The post ended by saying that the “Miss Independent” singer would “better educate myself on the topic, so I can approach future conversations with more empathy.”
Check out Ne-Yo’s full Instagram video below:
After months of online hate over a single can of beer, trans influencer Dylan Mulvaney is calling out Anheuser-Busch for a lack of support.
In a video posted to her Instagram on Thursday (June 29), Mulvaney detailed her experience with the transphobic backlash she received after posting a promotional video for Bud Light back in April. “What transpired from that video was more bullying and transphobia than I could have ever imagined,” Mulvaney said. “I should have made this video months ago, but I didn’t.”
Part of the reason Mulvaney waited to talk about her experience publicly was because she was waiting for Anheuser-Busch to get in touch with her and offer support — but according to Mulvaney, the brand never reached out.
“For a company to hire a trans person and then not publicly stand by them is worse than not hiring a trans person at all,” a teary-eyed Mulvaney said into the camera. “It gives customers permission to be as transphobic and hateful as they want. And the hate doesn’t end with me. It has serious and grave consequences for the rest of our community. And we’re customers too. I know a lot of trans and queer people who love beer.”
After Mulvaney posted her promotional video for Bud Light, in which the company sent her a commemorative can bearing her likeness, conservative commentators and celebrities lashed out at the company for working with a trans person. Artists like Kid Rock, John Rich, Ted Nugent and many more called for a boycott of the brand. As a result, Bud Light fell from its position as the top-selling beer in America earlier this month.
Mulvaney’s video comes one day after Anheuser-Busch CEO Brendan Whitworth appeared on CBS This Morning to address the Bud Light boycott that occurred following the influencer’s original collaboration. While Whitworth claimed that the company would “continue to support” the LGBTQ community, he dodged questions about whether or not the promotion with Mulvaney was a mistake, and signaled that the brand would shift back toward “what we do best, which is brewing great beer.”
For Mulvaney, Whitworth’s statement wasn’t enough, especially after she spent months feeling “scared” to leave her home, being followed in public, and feeling “a loneliness that I wouldn’t wish on anyone.” Her existence, she pointed out, is not a matter of opinion or belief.
“To turn a blind eye and pretend everything is OK — it just isn’t an option right now,” she said. “And you might say, ‘But Dylan, I don’t want to get political.’ Babe, supporting trans people, it shouldn’t be political. There should be nothing controversial or divisive about working with us.”
Check out Mulvaney’s full video below:
As the “culture wars” around basic human rights for trans people continues, Kiss singer-guitarist Paul Stanley is sharing his thoughts on best-practice medical care for minors.
In a tweet on Sunday (April 30) titled “My Thoughts On What I’m Seeing,” Stanley wrote that he is concerned about children being given access to gender-affirming care. “There is a BIG difference between teaching acceptance and normalizing and even encouraging participation in a lifestyle that confuses young children into questioning their sexual identification,” he wrote.
He added that adults “may decide reassignment is their needed choice,” but said that children should not be eligible for gender-affirming surgeries and procedures. “Turning this into a game or parents normalizing it as some sort of natural alternative or believing that because a little boy likes to play dress up in his sister’s clothes or a girl in her brother’s, we should lead them steps further down a path that’s far from the innocence of what they are doing,” he wrote.
Both the Endocrine Society and the World Professional Association for Transgender Health do not recommend gender-affirming surgical intervention before 18 years of age, unless the patient, their doctor and a mental health professional all agree that intervention is necessary.
Closing his statement, Stanley claimed that too many parents were confusing “teaching acceptance with normalizing and encouraging a situation that has been a struggle for those truly affected and have turned it into a sad and dangerous trend.”
Billboard has reached out to Stanley’s representatives for further comment from the guitarist and other members of Kiss.
The guitarist’s claims are part of an ongoing misinformation campaign regarding gender-affirming care for transgender youth. Multiple states have banned gender-affirming care for minors, claiming that “irreversible” healthcare affecting one’s gender shouldn’t be an option for those under the age of 18 — though some legislatures in Texas, Kansas and elsewhere have begun quietly attempting to raise that minimum age to 26.
While these claims about “irreversible” procedures are common, the facts show that they are largely false. In an interview with Billboard last year, Dr. Joshua D. Safer, MD, explained that the kind of surgeries many of these right-wing lawmakers and Stanley are concerned about are already “typically reserved for adults,” with only extraordinary cases requiring more immediate intervention. “Prior to any gender-affirming medical or surgical intervention, all minors must have an intake with a knowledgeable mental health provider internal to our system. Once deemed ready for a medical/surgical intervention, the processes we have for adults are then brought into play,” he said.
Stanley’s statement is also directly refuted by every major medical organization in the U.S., including the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Psychological Association, all of whom agree that gender-affirming care is not only not dangerous for trans youth, but in most cases, highly beneficial and life-saving.
Read Stanley’s full statement below:
As conservative country stars such as John Rich and Travis Tritt continue their calls for a boycott of Bud Light, Anheuser-Busch CEO Brendan Whitworth has responded to the ongoing controversy on Friday (April 14).
In a statement posted to the company’s official Instagram page and Twitter account, Whitworth said that he felt a responsibility toward making sure “every consumer feels proud of the beer we brew,” pointing to Anheuser-Busch’s history of support for “our communities, military, first responders, sports fans and hard-working Americans everywhere.”
In regards to the ongoing backlash, Whitworth clarified the company’s objectives as a brand: “We never intended to be part of a discussion that divides people,” he wrote. “We are in the business of bringing people together over a beer.”
Conservative backlash to the brand began when transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney participated in a branded partnership with Bud Light, advertising its Easy Carry Contest across her social media accounts, in which she thanked the company for sending her a can of the beer with her face emblazoned on the side.
In response to Mulvaney’s video, artists including Kid Rock and Ted Nugent began speaking out against the brand, with Tritt and Rich starting their own respective boycotts of all Anheuser-Busch products.
Whitworth never directly referenced Mulvaney, Tritt, Rich, or the boycotts themselves in his statement. Instead, he focused on “the importance of accountability and the values upon which America was founded: freedom, hard work and respect for one another,” while also adding that he as CEO would focus more on “protecting [Anheuser-Busch’s] remarkable history and heritage.”
Closing his official statement, Whitworth said that he would “continue to work tirelessly to bring great beers to consumers across the nation.”
Check out Brendan Whitworth’s full statement below.
Despite what some lawmakers may be attempting throughout the U.S. right now, transgender and non-binary people are not going anywhere anytime soon — and they’re more than ready to make their voices heard.
Friday (March 31) marks International Transgender Day of Visibility, an annual commemoration since 2010 that has been honored around the world as “a day to celebrate the lives and contributions of trans people, while also drawing attention to the poverty, discrimination, and violence the community faces,” according to GLAAD.
This year, the world certainly needs a reminder of what exactly trans and gender diverse community is up against — despite being only three months into the calendar year, 2023 has already broken the record for the most anti-trans legislation introduced across the U.S., with states like West Virginia, Iowa and Kentucky all banning gender-affirming care for minors.
In a 2022 interview with Billboard, Human Rights Campaign deputy director of communications Laurel Powell put it simply: “There is a very well-funded, well-organized movement to try and drive a wedge between people and their LGBTQ+ friends, neighbors and family,” she said. “This is being driven by extremist legislators.”
International Transgender Day of Visibility provides allies another opportunity to not just contribute to the many organizations across the U.S. that are fighting to stop this wave of anti-trans hatred, but also to celebrate the myriad contributions trans and gender diverse people have made to society.
Below, Billboard takes a look at 15 artists who are redefining what it means to be openly transgender and non-binary in the music industry today:
Shea Diamond
Image Credit: Courtesy Photo
Shea Diamond, both an activist and a singer-songwriter, belts out the bold anthem “I Am Her” with soul and strength. “There’s an outcast in everybody’s life / And I am her,” she sings. According to Diamond, the song began as a statement to a world which said she shouldn’t exist and now stands as an anthem “for all those that felt shunned for simply being who they were.”
Find Shea Diamond on Spotify / Apple Music / YouTube
Anohni
Anohni is not afraid of tackling topics often considered controversial. In “Drone Bomb Me,” Anohni sings of a nine-year-old Afghan girl whose family has been killed by a drone bomb. Her latest album, Hopelessness, covers issues from climate change to Guantanamo Bay. “I wanted to do something that was gonna go down fighting,” Anohni told Pitchfork.
Find Anohni on Spotify / Apple Music / YouTube
SOPHIE
There are few artists who have directly impacted the current sound of pop music more than the late SOPHIE. A pioneer in both the dance and pop fields, the producer pushed the boundaries of her respective genres to their breaking points, eventually giving way to glorious soundscapes that were fueled by the aesthetics of bubblegum pop and the experimentation of the avant-garde dance scene being led by the collective at PC Music. But it was on their magnum opus project Oil of Every Pearl’s Un-Insides where SOPHIE finally took a moment to allow herself to stand in the spotlight, coming out publicly as transgender and fully taking ownership of her trailblazing work in the music industry.
Find SOPHIE on Spotify / Apple Music / YouTube
Peppermint
Image Credit: Courtesy Photo
Along with being the season 9 runner-up of RuPaul’s Drag Race, Peppermint is also a talented musical artist in her own right. While she flexes her many talents on everything from original ballads to pop diva tributes, it’s on her 2017 anthem “Civil War” where Peppermint gets real about the reality of life as a transgender woman in this day and age. “I’m an army of one, marching alone/ Fighting for my life,” she sings, stirring up emotions.
Find Peppermint on Spotify / Apple Music / YouTube
Skylar Kergil
Skylar Kergil, an American activist, singer-songwriter and YouTube personality, has a folk sound that sends a statement. “Strangers stare and they want to be the first to/ Ask for my life in one word/ But it’s not that simple,” Kergil sings in “Tell Me A Story.”
Find Skylar Kergil on Spotify / Apple Music / YouTube
Left at London
While many people know Left at London for their hilarious Vine and TikTok content, they really ought to know her for her music first. The singer’s eclectic offerings can range from funk-driven, sexy anthems to folksy kiss-offs aimed at transphobes, all while infusing her charismatic persona and expert songwriting into instantly memorable tracks that you’ll find yourself going back for again and again.
Find Left at London on Spotify / Apple Music / YouTube
Ryan Cassata
Image Credit: Courtesy Photo
Ryan Cassata has been representing the transgender community in the music industry for over a decade. Whether they’re preaching the importance of community on songs like “We’re the Cool Kids” — which Cassata said is about coming together, battling ignorance “and hopefully beating it” — or getting real about heartbreak on more recent tracks like “If You Ever Leave Long Island,” Cassata always manages to uplift and celebrate his community through song.
Find Ryan Cassata on Spotify / Apple Music / YouTube
Ah-Mer-Ah-Su
Star Amerasu, a self-professed “poptronic princess,” chronicles her complicated encounters with anti-anxiety medicines known as benzodiazepines (or benzos) in the song “Klonopin.” The light lullaby peeks into the taboo topic of prescription pill use and abuse. “I got problems, you got problems, they got problems, we all got problems / Why don’t we just run away, come again another day,” Amerasu sings.
Find Ah-Mer-Ah-Su on Spotify / Apple Music / YouTube
Against Me!
In “Transgender Dysphoria Blues,” Laura Jane Grace of Against Me! tells the tale of gender dysphoria. “You want them to see you / Like they see every other girl,” Grace sings. “They just see a faggot / They’ll hold their breath not to catch the sick.” The punk rock track seeps the pain and frustration that many transgender people feel. Since coming out publicly in 2012, Grace has talked often and openly of her identity. Recently, Grace told SF Weekly that she feels free — a sensation she never had in the first part of the band’s life.
Find Against Me! on Spotify / Apple Music / YouTube
Ethel Cain
Image Credit: Courtesy Photo
Since her debut in 2019, Ethel Cain — the haunting, righteous persona inhabited by singer-songwriter Hayden Anhedönia — has been crafting her own dark world to mirror the reality we all live in. That universe came into full fruition on 2022’s Preacher’s Daughter, a moving alternative album tracking a story about trying to live up to the impossible expectations of the American Dream, especially as a transgender woman struggling to find acceptance. It’s just one testament to Cain’s staying power as a musical auteur that she can craft a story that simultaneously disquiets your mind, while also never letting your attention stray from her phenomenal music.
Find Ethel Cain on Spotify / Apple Music / YouTube
The Cliks
Lucas Silveria, known as the front man of The Cliks, was one of the first transgender men to be signed to a major label recording contract. The Cliks released Snakehouse with Warner Music Canada in 2006. After transitioning, Silveria admitted that he needed to take on a new sound. The Motown swing of “Savanna” is something to be swayed by.
Find The Cliks on Spotify / Apple Music / YouTube
Dua Saleh
Non-binary artist Dua Saleh is here to give you honesty. The rising rap-meets-R&B-meets-pop phenomenon out of of Minnesota writes what they feel on the regular, whether it’s pain (“Cat Scratch”), pleasure (“Day to Day”) or anything in between. With a voice you won’t be able to get out of your head and a tendency towards enthralling production, Saleh is an artist more than worthy of listening to ASAP.
Find Dua Saleh on Spotify / Apple Music / YouTube
Cavetown
Image Credit: Courtesy Photo
For indie artist Robin Skinner, a.k.a. Cavetown, the name of the game is community. Along with crafting instantly-catchy indie-rock tracks, Skinner spent much of his career building their core fanbase through direct interaction — whether that’s on video sharing sites like YouTube or through streaming platforms like Twitch. Using their platform to give back when the opportunity arises, as well as dedicating some of their songs to their community, Cavetown has proven the power of platform time and time again.
Find Cavetown on Spotify / Apple Music / YouTube
KC Ortiz
“When I was 17 or 18, I wanted to be the next Lil’ Kim,” Chicago-based rapper KC Ortiz told Billboard in an conversation with LCD Soundsystem’s Gavin Rayna Russom about President Donald Trump’s ban on transgender military members. The former Air Force personnel released her second album Church Tapes this July.
Find KC Ortiz on Spotify / Apple Music / YouTube
Nakhane
South African star wants to show you a good time. The pop singer-songwriter spent much of their career blazing their own trail as an openly non-binary African star. It was with their 2018 masterwork You Will Not Die that they captured the attention of veritable stars like Elton John and Madonna. Nakhane’s versatile musical voice lends itself toward change more often than not, meaning you never know what to expect when you press play on their latest work — making it all the more fun to find out what they have in store for you.
Find Nakhane on Spotify / Apple Music / YouTube