Adam Lambert slams ‘ignorant’ and ‘foolish’ anti-trans people
"How can you be anti-trans if you don't know anything about it? If you have no first-hand experience with it?"
American Idol star, Adam Lambert, has perfectly skewered people curtailing trans rights for their “ignorant” and “foolish” positions.
The High Drama performer took to the stage at Pride in London on Saturday (1 July) where he sang his official Pride anthem ‘You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)’.
Speaking to Attitude before the event, Lambert discussed the current political situation in the US.
So far in the 2023 legislative session, more than 525 anti-LGBTQ bills have been introduced in 41 states. That’s according to the group the Human Rights Campaign.
“Obviously, the more brightly we’re shining and the more progress we make, you’re going to have an equal reaction on the opposite side,” said Lambert. “So you’re, seeing a lot of bigotry and ignorance on display from the right-wingers.”
He also said that a lot of what people countering LGBTQ freedoms and rights say is based on fear, not facts.
“One of the ways that we can combat that is just by leading by example and continuing to be loving and joyful and authentic, and not really making any apologies for who we are,” he continued.
“I think sometimes people just need to learn because they haven’t learned yet. So many people that are anti-trans, for example, don’t have anybody in their lives that’s trans that they’ve spoken to.”
Lambert then questioned people’s anti-trans viewpoints.
“How can you be anti-trans if you don’t know anything about it? If you have no first-hand experience with it? It’s a pretty ignorant way to live your life. It just seems foolish to me.”
But he admitted it’s often very hard to debate this sort of thing with people, insisting love and joy were the weapons people should use as an antidote to hate.
The Queen frontman also lamented the use of religion as a way to justify fearmongering and vilifying communities. All of this, he concluded, was a way “to control a group of people, so they vote a certain way.”
However, he’s hopeful that younger generations aren’t hiding as much or being as ashamed as older generations. This, he said, is leading to a shift in perception.
“There’s a lot of self-hatred for those of us that grow up as queer, we grow up not accepting ourselves. Especially some of us older gays. So, when we see somebody being the thing that we’re ashamed of, we don’t necessarily support it, initially.
“I feel like the next generation coming up, it’s not quite the same. That shift I think is really exciting. Timing is everything. It shows us that we’re evolving, and we’re moving forward.”
Adam Lambert’s album, High Drama, is available to stream and download now.