Róisín Murphy apologizes for 'social-media fire and brimstone' over trans rights comments

Irish singer-songwriter Róisín Murphy is apologizing for comments about gender affirming care that she appeared to make from a personal Facebook account.

In a post to X, formerly known as Twitter, Murphy, who has a large queer fan base, notes that she has been "thrown into a very public discourse" for which she is "deeply unsuited."

"I cannot apologize enough for being the reason for this eruption of damaging and potentially dangerous social-media fire and brimstone," Murphy wrote. "To witness the ramifications of my actions and the divisions it has caused is heartbreaking."

Sergione Infuso/Corbis via Getty Róisín Murphy

The "Let Me Know" singer came under fire for a comment, made from what appears to be a personal account, on a Facebook post in which she reiterated some transphobic talking points.

"Please don't call me a TERF [trans-exclusionary radical feminist], please don't keep using that word against women. I beg you! But puberty blockers are f---ed, absolutely desolate, big pharma laughing all the way to the bank," Murphy wrote. "Little mixed-up kids are vulnerable and need to be protected, that's just true."

A 2020 study published in the medical journal Pediatrics found a correlation between access to puberty blockers during adolescence and a significant decrease in suicidal ideation.

In her apology, Murphy acknowledged her comment, writing that she has "had a personal Facebook account for years" and that the morning on which she made the comments she was "scrolling" and "brought up a specific issue that was only broadly related to the original post."

She added, "I should've known, too, that I was stepping out of line."

The former Moloko front-woman directed much of her apology to her LGBTQ+ fan base, writing that she had spent "my whole life celebrating diversity and different views, but I never patronize or cynically aim my music directly at the pockets of any demographic."

In 2018, Murphy told The Guardian that realizing she had become a gay icon "felt like home."

"In the early part of my career I used to play in Paris with Moloko and it would always be this dry, trip-hop audience of mostly music journalists," she said at the time. "Then one day I turned up and it was wall-to-wall men with their tops off, hanging from the ceiling, sweat pouring everywhere. I thought: 'This is it! I've found my niche.'"

Murphy's comments provoked a backlash from some of her queer fans, who were taken aback by the controversy.

"For those of you that are leaving me, or have already left, I understand, I really do, but please know I have loved every one of you," Murphy wrote in her apology. "I have always been so proud of my audience and understood the privilege of performing for you, all through the years."

She continued, "I am so 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."

Murphy concluded her apology by saying she would "bow out of this conversation within the public domain" and stick to what she does best, make music. The singer's sixth solo album Hit Parade is set to be released on Sept. 8.

"My true calling is music and music will never exclude any of us," Murphy wrote. "I believe it will always be one of the greatest tools we can use to create a culture of tolerance."

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