A rock and roll legend is taking on woke culture and the transgender agenda, despite the backlash. In an interview last week with Stereogum, shock-rocker Alice Cooper shared his thoughts on how ridiculous woke culture is. “The whole woke thing … who’s making the rules?” he asked. “Is there a building somewhere in New York where people sit down every day and say, ‘Okay, we can’t say ‘mother’ now. We have to say ‘birthing person.’ Get that out on the wire right now?’ Who is this person that’s making these rules?” The 75-year-old rock star clarified, “I’m not being old school about it. I’m being logical about it.”
“It’s getting to the point now where it’s laughable,” Cooper continued. “If anybody was trying to make a point on this thing, they turned it into a huge comedy. I don’t know one person that agrees with the woke thing.”
Cooper also addressed the transgender craze, focusing on the ongoing debate over gender transition procedures for children. He quipped, “I respect people and who they are, but I’m not going to tell a seven-year-old boy, ‘Go put a dress on because maybe you’re a girl’…” Referring to transgenderism as a “fad,” the rock star said, “I find it wrong when you’ve got a six-year-old kid who has no idea. He just wants to play, and you’re confusing him telling him, ‘Yeah, you’re a boy, but you could be a girl if you want to be.’”
He continued: “I think that’s so confusing to a kid. It’s even confusing to a teenager. You’re still trying to find your identity, and yet here’s this thing going on, saying, ‘Yeah, but you can be anything you want. You can be a cat if you want to be.’ I mean, if you identify as a tree … It’s so absurd, that it’s gone now to the point of absurdity.”
Cooper concluded, “I look at it this way, the logical way: If you have these genitals, you’re a boy. If you have those genitals, you’re a girl.” He also took aim at the oft-repeated claim that “trans women are women,” explaining, “You were born a male. Okay, so that’s a fact. … Now, the difference is you want to be a female. Okay, that’s something you can do later on if you want to. But you’re not a male born a female.”
Despite his macabre theatrics, Alice Cooper is a devout Christian, having returned to Christianity while struggling to overcome alcoholism and drug abuse in the 1970s and 80s. He has spoken openly before about his biblical worldview on subjects such as marriage and sexuality.
In the wake of Cooper’s comments, goth-themed cosmetics company Vampyre Cosmetics cancelled a brand collaboration with the rock legend, saying on Instagram, “We stand with all members of the LGBTQIA+ community and believe everyone should have access to healthcare.” The company has faced such backlash on social media that it has reportedly shut down its Twitter page.
Another famous rocker also took heat for his recent comments on transgenderism. In a video clip from a concert, guitarist Carlos Santana told fans, “When God made you and me, before we came out of the womb, you know who you are and what you are.” He continued to say that identifying as transgender “ain’t right. Because a woman is a woman and a man is a man.” Santana also said he is in agreement on the subject with “my brother, Dave Chappelle,” a comedian who has vocally opposed the transgender agenda.
The guitarist reportedly posted an apology on Facebook last week, writing in part, “I am sorry for my insensitive comments. … I realize that what I said hurt people and that was not my intent. I sincerely apologize to the transgender community and everyone I offended.” He later deleted the apology, posting instead, “the energy of consciousness generates its own kind. hate begets hate love begets love.”
Although raised a Catholic, Santana left Christianity to pursue Hinduism, Yoga, and various forms of esoteric mysticism, even claiming to have spoken for years with a Kabbalistic “angel,” as well as the souls of deceased fellow rock guitarist Jimi Hendrix and deceased jazz musician Miles Davis. He said he returned to Christianity after his 2007 divorce and credits Christ with saving him from suicide, but Santana now links his spirituality to cannabis, which he says helps with “tapping into that divine energy within all of us.”
Joseph Backholm, senior fellow for Biblical Worldview at Family Research Council, commented to The Washington Stand, “I don’t think there is one reason people retract statements under pressure. Sometimes, people fail to say what they actually think, and they want a chance to rephrase. But that’s not what is happening here.”
He continued, “You don’t have to be a musician to face this pressure, but to succeed in the face of this pressure there have to be things you care more about than what people say about you. I think Alice Cooper and Santana represent the different sides of this. Cooper is operating from a theological foundation that Santana appears not to be operating from, so Santana is more inclined to do what he perceives to be best for himself in the moment. Cooper seems to have the bigger picture in mind.”
Cooper’s and Santana’s comments follow pop star Ne-Yo doubling down on his own comments criticizing gender transition procedures for children, despite backlash and his publicist’s attempt at an apology.
S.A. McCarthy serves as a news writer at The Washington Stand.
