Organizers of San Francisco Pride said Tuesday they “mutually parted ways” with Dee Snider after he tweeted his support for comments Paul Stanley made about gender-affirming care for children.
“We were heartbroken and angry,” they said in a release.
San Francisco Pride was set to announce that Twisted Sister’s 1984 anthem “We’re Not Gonna Take It” was going to be this year’s “unofficial rallying cry” and Snider was going to perform it live.
“Dee has always been a vocal supporter of LGBTQ+ rights,” the release pointed out.
Stanley, 71, said he believes “there is a BIG difference between teaching acceptance and normalizing and even encouraging participation in a lifestyle that confuses young children into questioning their sexual identification as though some sort of game and then parents in some cases allow it.”
It is not clear what prompted Stanley to publicly share his views, which got plenty of support on social media. Many other people criticized Stanley for conflating gender identity and sexual orientation, which develop separately.
Snider, 68, retweeted Stanley’s statement and wrote: “You know what? There was a time where I ‘felt pretty’ too. Glad my parents didn't jump to any rash conclusions! Well said, @PaulStanleyLive.”
You know what? There was a time where I "felt pretty" too. Glad my parents didn't jump to any rash conclusions! Well said, @PaulStanleyLive https://t.co/G80uNyzD7M
— Dee Snider (@deesnider) May 1, 2023
San Francisco Pride said the message perpetuated by Stanley “casts doubt on young trans people’s ability to self-identify their gender.” Organizers said “with transphobia proliferating and becoming more and more enshrined in law throughout the country — we have to stand up for the most impacted among us.”
In response to a tweet about his comment, Snider opined that “parents need to be less reactionary; Right and Left. No need to steer the child in either direction. Let the kid figure it out for themselves knowing their family is supportive.”