Brian May says his words were ‘twisted’ by ‘predatory press’ to suggest he is ‘unfriendly to trans people’
Brian May has said his comments about gendered awards categories and the transgender community were “subtly twisted” by a journalist.
Earlier this week, the Queen guitarist hit out at the Brit Awards over their “ill-thought-out” decision to get rid of gendered categories.
May said that the choice was made “without enough thought”, adding that “a lot of things work quite well and can be left alone”.
Speaking to The Mirror at ITV’s Palooza event in London this week, he also said that Queen would not have been considered “diverse” by 2021’s standards.
“I am sure if Queen started now we would be forced to have people of different colours and different sexes and a trans [person], but life doesn’t have to be like that. We can be separate and different,” said the 74-year-old.
May was met with criticism from some people over his comments.
The musician took to Instagram today (28 November) to clarify his remarks and claimed that he was the victim of “predatory Press hacks” who made him appear “unfriendly to trans people”.
“Yes – I was ambushed and completely stitched up by a journalist at the recent ITV event. And it’s led to a whole mess of press stories making it look like I’m unfriendly to trans people,” he wrote.
“Nothing could be further from the truth. My words were subtly twisted. I should have known better than to talk to those predatory Press hacks.”
May continued to offer “sincere apologies to anyone who has been hurt by the stories”.
He said: “My heart is open as always to humans of all colours, all creeds, all sexes and sexualities, all shapes and sizes – and all creatures. We all deserve respect and an equal place in this world.
“And my grateful thanks to all of you who stepped up to defend me in the last couple of days. It means so much that you have faith in me. With love – Bri.”
On Tuesday (23 November), the Brits awards show announced that their prizes would no longer be split into male and female categories.
In a statement announcing the change, the organisers said the decision was made in order to celebrate “artists solely for their music and work, rather than how they choose to identify or as others may see them”.
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