Singer Macy Gray has sparked debate on social media after sharing candid views on trans women.
“If you want me to call you a ‘her,’ I will because that’s what you want, but that doesn’t make you a woman just because I call you a ‘her’ and just because you got a surgery,” Gray said on UK show Piers Morgan Uncensored.
The 54-year-old, who won a Grammy for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance in 2001 for her hit "I Try," said a woman is “a human being with boobs. How about you start there? And a vagina.
"Just because you go change your parts doesn’t make you a woman.”
Gray added: “A woman goes through a completely unique experience and surgery and finding oneself doesn’t change that. Being a little girl is a whole epic book, you know? You can’t have that just because you want to be a woman.”
Gray acknowledged some people will “hate me for saying this” and insisted she supports “all trans rights to fairness and equality” but said “I don’t think you should be called transphobic just because you don’t agree.”
After the broadcast on Monday, Morgan tweeted his support for Gray. "Macy Gray, as she predicted, is already being abused, hounded, shamed & branded ‘transphobic’ by the usual vile, vicious mob who attack women that defend women’s rights."
Gray released 10 studio albums between 1999 and 2018. Last year, she appeared as a competitor on the Australian edition of The Masked Singer.