Video has surfaced of Carlos Santana going on an anti-transgender diatribe during a concert last month in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
As pointed out on Reddit, during the late July show at Hard Rock Live in the Etess Arena, Santana took a break from performing and decided to rant about transgenderism. For whatever reason, he took the opportunity to mutter his contempt for anyone who does not identify as cisgender.
“When God made you and me, before we came out of the womb, you know who you are and what you are," he said. "Later on, when you grow out of it, you see things and you start believing that you could be something that sounds good, but you know it ain’t right. Because a woman is a woman and a man is a man. That’s it. Whatever you wanna do in the closet, that’s your business. I’m OK with that.”
Santana then doubled down by showing solidarity with self-proclaimed TERF, comedian Dave Chappelle, putting his hands together, saying, “I am like this with my brother Dave Chappelle.”
With the backlash rising, Santana has now taken to damage control, issuing a statement to Billboard that says he honours and respects "all person’s ideals and beliefs."
“Here is my personal goal that I strive to achieve every day. I want to honor and respect all person’s ideals and beliefs whether they are LGBTQ or not,” he wrote. “This is the planet of free will and we have all been given this gift. I will now pursue this goal to be happy and have fun, and for everyone to believe what they want and follow in your hearts without fear. It takes courage to grow and glow in the light that you are and to be true, genuine, and authentic. We grow and learn to shine our light with Love and compliments. Have a glorious existence. Peace.”
Not smooth Santana. Not smooth at all.