Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Entertainment
Tina Campbell

Macy Gray slams backlash as she says trans women remark was ‘grossly misunderstood’

Macy Gray has fired back at the backlash after she made controversial transgender during a TV interview.

Appearing on Piers Morgan Uncensored on Monday night, the 54-year-old singer sparked outrage while discussing whether trans women should be allowed to compete against biological women in sports.

She said: “Just because you go and change your parts doesn’t make you a woman, sorry.”

Addressing the furore on Twitter on Tuesday, the I Try hit-maker said: “I got nothing but love for lgbt+ and transgender communities. I’ve been a supporter since day one and never a fake one.

“My statement on piers morgan was GROSSLY misunderstood. I respect everyone’s right to be whoever they wana be (sic)”.

The tweet was soon deleted.

But she also told another user: “I wasn’t defining trans women. Just women. Because I know what it means to be one. I don’t know what it means to be a trans woman and I never said I did. But that goes both ways.”

Earlier in the day, Gray retweeted support from JK Rowling who said: “Today feels like a good day to ensure I’ve bought Macy Gray’s entire back catalogue.”

The Harry Potter author, 56, has received death threats in the past after being vocal on the trans debate about her opinion that “biological sex is real”.

Rowling lent her support further to the five-time Grammy Award-winner, tweeting a screengrab of Gray’s tweet saying the “truth hurts”.

Broadcaster India Willoughby accused Gray of “killing what’s left of her career” for her remarks on the Piers Morgan Uncensored interview.

Bette Midler was another celebrity who found herself in the firing line after she made comments about women.

She was condemned by fans for a tweet many people said “demonises trans people, resulting in calls to boycott her upcoming movie Hocus Pocus 2.

Bette Midler has also recently come under fire from the trans community (Getty Images)

Midler wrote on Twitter: “Women of the world! We are being stripped of our rights over our bodies, our lives and even our name!

“They don’t call us ‘women’ anymore; they call us ‘birthing people’ or ‘menstruators,’ and even ‘people with vaginas’! Don’t let them erase you! Every human on earth owes you.”

The 76-year-old has since insisted “there was no intention of anything exclusionary or transphobic”.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.