Transphobic remarks from country singer Jason Aldean’s wife faced swift backlash from his industry peers last week who blasted her for “picking on trans kids.”
Brittany Aldean initially remarked that she was grateful to her parents “for not changing my gender when I went through my tomboy phase” while sharing a makeup transformation video on Instagram. While some read the comment as innocent, others were unable to take it as such considering the ongoing political attacks against trans kids and parents who support them currently happening throughout the United States.
Debate over what Aldean said soon followed, and singer Cassadee Pope subtweeted her over inaccurately comparing a “tomboy phase” to being transgender.
Pope’s decision to wade into the conversation caused its own divide, as some applauded her for supporting LGBTQ+ kids and others ripped into her for the same, but both Maren Morris and Joy Oladokun, who is queer, backed her up — even after professional rightwing troll Candace Owens jumped into the fray.
Morris’s husband, Ryan Hurd, also chimed in to denounce “scoring quick points by picking on trans kids.”
“Shut up and sing only applies to those who you disagree with,” he observed of the discourse.
Meanwhile, Aldean decided to elaborate on her stance, proving that her initial comment was absolutely meant as a condemnation of any parents who support their child’s gender identity. She regurgitated inaccurate anti-trans talking points that claim “genital mutilation of children” and likened trans identities to her own young kids wanting to be a dinosaur or a cat.
She ended with a plea to “leave children alone,” something she and others inserting themselves into a debate on care that should be between children, their families, and their doctors, with the input of people who actually know what they’re talking about, might want to seriously consider.
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